Bear Necessities: Justin Fields eager to prove he can be franchise QB

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The Bears’ dismal quarterback history is well-documented. But the hope is that changes with Justin Fields.

For Fields, he doesn’t feel any added pressure given the franchise hasn’t had a true franchise quarterback in decades. In fact, any of those high expectations fans have for Fields, Fields says his own expectations are greater.

“In all honestly, it’s not my fault that they haven’t had a franchise quarterback,” Fields said on the Slow News Day podcast with Kevin Clark. “My expectations, I think they’re higher than what any fan out there has for me. I want to be the best I can be. I think the amounts of success I want to bring to our team, to this organization, to our city, it’s greater than what anybody expects. It’s no added pressure at all because I want to be the best I can be and I know how great I can be.”

Fields is coming off a breakout second season, where he emerged as one of the NFL’s most electric players. Fields made defenses pay with his legs, rushing for 1,143 yards (just 64 yards shy of breaking Lamar Jackson’s single-season rushing record).

But there’s plenty more to be desired out of the passing game. Fields completed 60.4% of his passes for 2,242 yards, 17 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. While he had some nice moments in the passing game, even Fields admitted that there’s room for improvement heading into a pivotal third season.

Still, with nearly $100 million in salary cap space and the No. 1 overall pick, there are no shortage of resources for GM Ryan Poles to build around Fields.

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