Chicago Bears coach hints at possible Justin Fields injury
Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy told reporters that Week Three starting quarterback Justin Fields might have suffered a hand injury in the final minutes of Sunday’s 26-6 loss against the Cleveland Browns. Fields later disputed the claim, despite taking postgame x-rays.
ESPN’s Jeff Dickerson confirmed the x-rays were taken on the right hand of Justin Fields after the possible injury. The rookie quarterback described the test as “precautionary” on Sunday.
Justin Fields started the game in place of Andy Dalton, who was ruled out with a knee injury. Fields was elevated to the starting job for this game and potentially more as Dalton recovers. If both are unable to go in Week Four, Super Bowl champion Nick Foles is next in line to take the field.
Bumpy start for Justin Fields
Fields was 6-of-20 for 68 passing yards on Sunday with a 41.3 quarterback rating and 5.8 QBR. The rookie quarterback also finished with 12 rushing yards on three attempts. Fields was sacked nine times for 67 yards.
The Bears ended the game with just 47 net yards of offense, which Nagy says falls on the shoulders of the coaching staff.
“I obviously as a head coach did not do a good enough job of getting this offense ready… It starts with me. It ends with me,” Nagy said, via Chris Emma of 670 The Score.
Despite a rough first start, with or without injury, Fields has shown potential early. He saw limited snaps over this first two weeks behind full-time starter Andy Dalton.
Quarterback controversy
After being taken 11th overall in the 2021 NFL Draft, Justin Fields came into a Bears system that had recently signed a veteran quarterback in Andy Dalton. Head coach Matt Nagy eventually named Dalton the starter and has shut down any debate on the topic, simply stating that Fields’ time will come.
The former Ohio State quarterback was impressive nearly every time he stepped on the field so far. But the Bears brass remain adamant they are taking a slow approach with their hopeful future franchise signal caller.
“Playing quarterback in the NFL, there’s so much that goes into that and so much different than you’d even see in the preseason—the weekly preparation, seeing NFL defenses in the regular season and all those things,” general manager Ryan Pace said last month. “I just think the more time he has to learn that and observe that, the better off for him.”