Bears quarterback Justin Fields is entering a pivotal third season, where he has the full support of general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus.
After an offseason of speculation about Fields’ future, Poles reiterated his belief in Fields when he traded the No. 1 pick — and chance to draft a quarterback — to the Panthers before the start of free agency.
Fields is coming off an encouraging 2022 season, where he established himself as one of the league’s most exciting players, despite a poor supporting cast. He rushed for 1,143 yards — setting records almost weekly — but it wasn’t without its toll. Fields suffered a separated left shoulder, where he missed only one game, and also injured his hip, which sidelined him for the season finale.
Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer shared that Fields spent his three-month offseason with teammates resting and rehabbing before arriving back to Halas Hall for the start of the team’s offseason program Monday.
Justin Fields was present for the first day of the Bears’ offseason program, and he’s back much healthier than he was at the end of the season. Fields spent time with his teammates during the three-month break, but rested and rehabbed physically after the toll last year took on his body—160 carries will leave a mark.
Breer added that there’s a strong belief that Fields is gearing up to “make a leap as a passer” this season, which will help him not have to run as much as he did last season.
There’s plenty of optimism that, with a year of reworking his throwing motion to make it a little less robotic, Fields will come back ready to make a leap as a passer. That, combined with the addition of DJ Moore and some help in the draft, will lessen the need to run him.
While the expectation is we’ll see Fields take that step forward as a passer, his mobility and athleticism are big parts of his game. He emerged as the NFL’s best running quarterback last year, and it’s up to Luke Getsy to find ways to utilize that in his offense.
