Chicago Bears: Despite Quiet Offseason, Team Expects Big Jump From Fields

Despite not providing much help this offseason, the Chicago Bears expect quarterback Justin Fields to make a big jump from his rookie season.

The Chicago Bears felt they finally found their franchise quarterback when they traded up and drafted Justin Fields in 2021. They want to make sure they get things right and help him develop into the player they expect.

That didn’t exactly work out in Fields’ rookie season. Then head coach Matt Nagy didn’t want to have him play very much in his first season. He wanted to do the same thing he and the Kansas City Chiefs did with Patrick Mahomes in 2018 — sit him down all season and have him take over the next season.

Circumstances didn’t work out the way Nagy and the Bears hoped for when the starting quarterback, Andy Dalton, hurt his knee in Week 2. Fields took over and Nagy felt the pressure to keep the rookie in.

Nagy did that, but at the same time, he didn’t. He started Fields, yes, but he kept the same game plan that he had for Dalton. Fields has a different set of skills and requires a different plan.

Nagy stuck to the same plan even as Fields took a beating game in and game out. He wanted Fields to stay in the pocket more. Fields can use his legs to extend plays and gain yards for himself, but Nagy wasn’t interested in that.

As a result, Fields didn’t look very good in his games. In 12 games, he only had 7 touchdowns against 10 interceptions. He did have his moments, however. He showed flashes of how good he could become.

In his second season, Fields is the man. This is his offense and his team. He doesn’t have to look over his shoulder after a bad play to wonder if the head coach pulls him.

That head coach is Matt Eberflus. He took over after the Bears fired Nagy. He’ll develop Fields with the help of Luke Getsy. Getsy did a great job helping the great (ugh) Aaron Rodgers with the Green Bay (ugh) Packers.

Here’s the thing, though. How much better can Fields get with what is around him now?

New general manager Ryan Poles wanted to prioritize the offensive line to protect Fields. Additionally, he wanted to get receivers to give Fields good targets. The only additions to the offensive line were Lucas Patrick at center and Dakota Dozier at guard. Patrick could end up being a good pickup to help Fields, but I don’t know what Poles sees in Dozier. He was so bad as a starting lineman in 2020 with the Minnesota Vikings that he spent most of the 2021 season on the practice squad. When he did play (six games) he only did so on special teams.

Poles also let James Daniels, arguably the best lineman on the unit, walk via free agency.

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In terms of the wide receivers, Poles added Equanimeous St. Brown. His only claim as an asset is that he was with Getsy in Green Bay so he’ll understand the offense. He won’t do much else after that.

Poles also added Byron Pringle. Pringle was low on the depth chart but did have the best season of his three-year career. He had 42 catches for 568 yards and 5 touchdowns. Who knows, he could have a better season with more targets.

Despite this, Eberflus expects Fields to have a big jump in production in his second season. That is a big ask considering that at the moment the line and wide receivers corps are worse than they were in 2021.

I said last time in public that the development of him for the second year should be a big jump. It should be. That’s what we’re looking for. We’re looking for better technique, better fundamentals, better decision-making, better timing, everything.

Perhaps Fields naturally improves just by having his rookie season under his belt. He has a better understanding of the speed the NFL players have. Furthermore, he should have a better rapport with his receivers. Without any reps with the first team last season, he had to learn the receivers’ tendencies on the fly.

As much as Fields learned from his brutal initiation into the NFL last season, that only goes so far. In addition, he needs a good line to protect him and receivers who can get open and help him make plays. The line is definitely not there. Aside from Darnell Mooney, there isn’t any receiver who Fields can really trust.

I understand that this is a rebuild and it’ll take at least a couple of seasons, but the Bears should at least have gotten Fields some help for this season. Sure, Poles will draft a receiver and a lineman, but it’ll take time to get them into the swing of things.

The Chicago Bears will head into 2023, Fields’ third season in the league, without really having a handle on how good he is. Does that scenario sound familiar?