Justin Fields on Bears having the No. 1 pick, message to his fans |
CHICAGO - This season was an interesting year for the Chicago Bears as a whole. While the start of the season appeared to be a dumpster fire, later in the year and particularly after the trade for edge rusher Montez Sweat, things started to turn around. But for quarterback Justin Fields, it may be his last as a Chicago Bear. His relationship with head coach Matt Eberflus and general manager Ryan Poles and the rest of his teammates could help him continue his career in Chicago.
“Of course, there (were) a lot of ups and downs. But, I grew a lot, learned a lot this year and I think it’s going to do nothing but help me in the future … “I have a pretty good relationship with Ryan, any of the players can go upstairs. But, at the end of the day, this is a business. They have to make the tough decision. My job is to just go out there and play my best. But, it would mean a lot just to get that information from them. It’d just really send a message that they trust me to lead this team and be the quarterback of the Bears,” Fields said. “I think with our relationship with Flus and Ryan, any player on this team and go upstairs and have a sit-down conversation with him. Like I said, he has a great relationship with all the players and it’s not like he’s sitting up there, not talking. He’s out at practice most of the time.” Fields struggled greatly during the first half of the season until a dislocated thumb forced him to miss five weeks and watch how rookie quarterback Tyson Bagent operated the offense. Ever since returning from his injury, Fields played better and seemed to make strides in his decision-making and ball protection. However, what was more noticeable was he became more heavily involved in the run game totalling over 100 yards in his first game back from his injury and another 97 rushing yards in the second-to-last win the Bears had this season. Especially with Chicago having the No. 1 overall pick in the draft once again, a lot of questions have been raised as to whether the Bears will keep the pick and draft a new franchise quarterback or trade it and stick with Fields. However, this is not something on Fields’ mind right now. “I control what I can control and I’m going to get healthy this offseason, spend time with my family and get better. So, like I said, we went through the same thing last year. We had the number one pick. Everybody asked me, ‘What if, what if, what if?’ and that happens,” Fields said. “So, I’m not saying that nothing might happen because shoot, we all don’t know. But, I’m not going to let the potential or, ‘What if? What if not?’ stress me from enjoying life and going through my everyday life.” There is an argument to be made for both sides of the issue. On the one hand, Fields only has 10 wins in 38 career starts in the NFL; five of those victories came from this season. He has yet to top 3,000 passing yards in a season and in fact, this year was the first time he had over 2,500 passing yards. But, he makes up for that to a degree on that ground with his elite running threat. He has struggled at times but during the past two years, it is difficult to pinpoint if this is the result of the play calling under former offensive coordinator Luke Getsy or because of Fields. Just in case it is his final season with the Bears, Fields had one last message for the fans. “To the city of Chicago, I love y’all, appreciate the fans and the support from all the Bears in case this is my last rodeo with y’all and appreciate y’all for everything,” Fields said.
