Chicago Bears Training Camp Preview: The Quarterbacks

Our series previewing the Chicago Bears training camp continues as we look at the quarterbacks. Did the team do enough to help Justin Fields and do they have a good backup plan?

As the Chicago Bears inch closer to the start of training camp we continue our series previewing the positions. Next up is the quarterbacks unit.

The Bears are notorious for lacking at the quarterback spot. Statistically speaking, Jay Cutler is their best quarterback yet he wasn’t able to do much but put up numbers every now and then.

In 2021, the Bears felt they finally found the franchise quarterback that eluded them for over a century. They moved up in the draft to pick up Justin Fields. He has the tools and leadership skills to lead a team.

Now the plan is to develop Fields and put in the assets to make sure he is in a position to succeed.

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Players on the unit

Fields is the bona fide starter now. Last year, former head coach Matt Nagy wanted to sit the rookie and use Andy Dalton. There was a great deal of pressure to start him and once Dalton hurt his knee Nagy had no other choice.

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The problem was that Nagy didn’t adjust his offense to utilize Fields’ skills. He basically had the offense built for Dalton and just substituted Fields. That worked out disastrously. While Fields showed flashes, he basically spent his time running around for his life most of the time.

Both Dalton and third-string quarterback Nick Foles are gone now. In their place are Trevor Siemian and Nathan Peterman.

Siemian has some experience as a starter when he was with the Denver Broncos, New York Jets, and New Orleans Saints. He has 33 career games and started 29 of them. He’ll be a dependable backup who can start in a pinch.

Peterman won’t see much action as the third quarterback. He’ll basically be the scout team quarterback. He’s only played in 10 games and started four of them. If he’s playing in a game, that means something seriously bad happened.

Projections for the unit

It’ll be interesting to see how Fields performs now that he is the unquestioned starter. Now he’ll have an offense tailored for him. The only worry is if he can help the talent surrounding him. There are questions abound concerning the wide receivers and the offensive line.

In college, Fields was able to elevate the play of his teammates. He took the team onto his shoulders and led it through a great number of wins.

Can Fields do the same on the professional level?

There will be struggles this season. The talent isn’t up to par. The true rebuild won’t really start until the next offseason. The Bears have the highest available salary cap space in the NFL. The roster will be completely different in 2023 than it will be in 2022.

As long as we see Fields take some steps forward it will be a good season. Things are set up now so the coaches can get a better idea of what they have.

Siemian should be dependable in a backup role. He won’t challenge for a starting job, however. He’s there in case something happens to Fields or for mop-up duty.

While the numbers might not be the greatest, we’ll see that Fields is the guy for the job. Then, in 2023, we’ll see how good he really is when he has better talent around him.