Justin Fields sits in a strange no-mans-land as the Chicago Bears hit their bye week. There were instances of brilliance over his past five starts. He carved up secondaries for big touchdowns and looked like a legitimate pocket passer. Then he seemed to lose momentum and reference to the player who leaned on his legs to make things happen. Experts and fans continue debating on where he stands in the organization. Some think he’s earned another season. Others believe the Bears have to pull the plug.
It truly depends on who you ask. Yet the opinion that matters most belongs to GM Ryan Poles. He’s remained supportive of Fields all season, offering no indication one way or the other. Still, there is a lot of speculation that Poles is already laying the groundwork for a change. This idea gained some serious traction courtesy of Brad Biggs from the Chicago Tribune. His information is almost always solid, so it was noteworthy when he stated on Mully & Haugh that Fields’ chances at another season are all but dead.
Only one hope remains.
“For those who are upset with the discussion of the possibility of the team possibly moving on from him after the season should probably adjust that to the probability that the team moves on from Justin Fields after the season because that’s where it appears to be headed as I evaluate the situation. There are five games remaining, so he’s got an opportunity to change the trajectory of this thing. But the evaluation at Halas Hall is going to be made on the entirety of it, not how people felt on December 1. It’s the entire season.”
Justin Fields isn’t seizing the moment.
People will look at his stats this year and see they’ve improved. His completion percentage, yards per game, and TD-to-INT ratio are all better from last season. However, they might be misleading. Most of his positive output came in two games against Washington and Denver, where he threw eight touchdowns and one interception. In the other six games, he has four touchdowns and five interceptions. That isn’t even counting his seven fumbles, four of which came in the 4th quarter.
People keep talking about his outstanding physical talent and his leadership. Both are undeniable. Yet the fact remains those alone don’t make a franchise quarterback. You also need efficiency, ball security, and processing speed. Justin Fields hasn’t consistently demonstrated any of those things since he was drafted. People keep preaching patience. They insist coaching is the issue, not him. Unfortunately, this is the same trap the Bears fell into with Jay Cutler. They always kept holding out hope that coaching changes would fix him. It never happened.
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Sometimes, the best thing to do is accept something isn’t working. That is the case with Fields.
