Yesterday, I wrote about Matt Eberflus’ weird press conference where he seemed to waffle on the subject of why Justin Fields wasn’t ready to play for Thursday night against Carolina. He stated he wasn’t medically cleared but then seemed to indicate there was still a chance he might play. It was so odd. The man looked like he didn’t have a clear idea of what he was supposed to say. I then revealed a source told me that GM Ryan Poles and others inside Halas Hall were delaying Fields’ return.
It appears there is a desire to move on from the embattled quarterback in 2024. Poles has seen enough. He wants to find his own guy. However, that decision would become complicated if Fields happened to return and play well down the stretch, winning some meaningless games in a lost season. Yes, it sounds way too conspiratorial. However, Adam Hoge of CHGO revealed rumblings of his own. Apparently, some inside the organization are also surprised Fields isn’t playing.
“I’m surprised Justin Fields isn’t playing tonight. And I know some inside Halas Hall are surprised too. One source I spoke with expected Fields to return last week against the Saints. Is Fields 100 percent? No. But he might not be 100 percent in 11 days against the Lions either. Based on what I saw in practice Wednesday — and it’s admittedly a small portion of practice we get to see — I saw a quarterback capable of playing tonight. Coupling this knowledge with Matt Eberflus’ odd “doubtful but out” press conference yesterday — well, something doesn’t add up here.”
Justin Fields will return, but his window is closing.
The thumb injury might be getting leveraged as a convenient excuse to hold the quarterback out. Maybe they’re hoping Tyson Bagent gives them a reason to keep him in. More likely, they’re trying to narrow Fields’ window to make his case for keeping the job. If he’d returned against New Orleans as many expected, that would’ve given him nine games—more than half of a season. Now he’s looking at seven games, presuming he returns after the mini-bye week against Detroit. Five of those games will be against opponents with top-10 defenses. Fields has averaged 150 yards passing with 11 TDs and 10 interceptions since the start of 2022 against such opponents.
Maybe things are getting blown out of proportion. Still, it feels more and more like the organization is ready to move on from Justin Fields. His health problems persist. The sack numbers haven’t gone down despite improvement on the offensive line. He’s still not protecting the ball well enough. There isn’t enough evidence to justify giving him another season. Plenty of people will disagree with that, but the lack of proof says it all. At some point, a team has to stop betting on potential.
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Arnie, how long are the fans expected to wait to see some Justin Fields improvement? No one is looking for fields to win the Super Bowl yet, just baby steps. Which would mean simple improvement. Not even looking for them to make the playoffs yet. Just faster decisions being made, getting the ball out, throwing to the right receivers and throwing to them to the point of where they’re able to have a chance of catching a ball and just simple improvements, which seems to be out of his grasp. So after almost 3 years, when should a decision be… Read more »
@Jioha I don’t often take time to post, just spend time to disagree, agree of don’t contribute either way if I’m divided. I have to give you Props though, sir on your contribution! you couldn’t have been more logical and well informed. HIGH 5!
After three years we’re still asking the question “Is Justin Fields going to be the Bears franchise quarterback?” While he’s a gifted athlete his ability to read defenses and make quick releases still seems to be in doubt!
A “classic” Bears move will be to move on from JF1 to a rookie, not only wasting a top draft pick on a rookie QB that is hardly a sure thing, but not using that pick to trade for a haul of top picks (and top talent) we need. When that fails, and Justin is balling out in Atlanta or someplace else, Bear fans will want to blame Poles, the new OC, the new HC or even more rediculously, Virginia McCaskey. It’s all so predictable, and my evolving belief is Bear fans and local media get the team and QB… Read more »
I’m tired of hearing how a player’s performance in his 4th full game is subpar compared to the rest of the good – great NFL’s quarterbacks. He is what he is. He’s a young stud with the moxie to push himself and others to be their best. I think the Bears are taking a bit of insurance out on their investment in Fields. It’s like taking the more expensive car out for a drive in rush hour when you can take the beater and not dent the one with more value. That’s what they’re doing. If you want to trade… Read more »