Moving on from Justin Fields wasn’t a popular decision, both among fans and in the Chicago Bears locker room. Many felt he was a rare physical specimen who deserved more time to learn the game. He’d slowly helped the team improve from 3-14 to 7-10 and was still one of the game’s most dynamic rushing threats. Bears players respected him and embraced his leadership. Pivoting at quarterback right when it felt like he was starting to learn didn’t make sense. Still, GM Ryan Poles had already reached his conclusion.
As much as he loved Fields as a person, he couldn’t justify passing on a quarterback with the #1 overall pick for the second year in a row. Not when Fields still had several core issues in his game that made winning a Super Bowl unlikely. So the Bears traded him to Pittsburgh. Like in Chicago, he quickly endeared himself to fans and teammates, going 4-2 as a starter. Then, like in Chicago, he was cast aside for somebody else. The New York Jets were only too happy to lure him in as a free agent this offseason, feeling he could provide much-needed stability and playmaking. Unfortunately, it sounds like the old problems continue haunting him, according to Jets beat writer Nick Faria.
Fields hasn’t overcome what keeps getting him replaced.
“Some of the issues that we saw earlier in his career: completion percentage in the fourth quarter, being late on his reads, being too slow to process, bailing from the pocket a little bit too early, all of those things have followed him over the last four years with the Chicago Bears and the Pittsburgh Steelers,” Faria said.
“You’re seeing similar things happen at minicamp. You saw it happen where some of the issues he had where he was late on some of his throws, he was late in his processing, that was happening at minicamp.”
Justin Fields is who he is.
The general saying in the NFL is that you’re the player you will be within three years of entering the league. Justin Fields has been in it since 2021. The guy we’ve seen over the past two years is what he’ll likely always be. That is a tremendous athlete with excellent mobility, a lethal deep ball, slow processing speed, and mediocre pocket awareness. Sadly, there is often a cap on such players. They can get you to a winning record in the right conditions, but won’t win you championships. Jalen Hurts might be the lone exception, but he was aided by elite talent everywhere around him. New York doesn’t have anything close to that roster.
It is great seeing Fields get another opportunity. Sadly, expecting him to be anything more than what he was in Pittsburgh or Chicago is unrealistic. Fans would do well to set their expectations accordingly.
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I’ve been dirt
But I don’t mind.
(Dirt by Iggy Pop & Stooges)
Let it effin go, Lambchop!
Born free
As free as the wind blows
As free as the grass grows
Born free to follow your heart
JF1 is arguably the best athletic talent the Bears ever had at QB. The problem is – he was never taught how to play QB the way an NFL OC wants the position played. Ryan Pace had no plan besides, “Justin, I need you to save my sorry azz.” Ryan Poles came in, and he and his staff failed to see that Justin was taught how to play the position properly, too. Then, Poles compounded the error but not cashing in while JF1 was a top -100 NFL talent after his second, and Poles’ first season in Chicago. Could JF1… Read more »
We have 5 years now to look back at that draft and see that the QB class was severely overrated by the experts and the league. I understood all the accolades Lawerence got because I too thought his body of work at Clemson would translate to the NFL. But I also had to listed to the quiet noise about how Fields wasn’t ready because his team covered for his errors. Fair I guess. But I also listened to those eager to jizz all over themselves how Bellichik got the best QB who was a winner, smart, advanced in his understanding… Read more »