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The Chicago Bears had to make an important decision this offseason on whether to move forward with Justin Fields as their franchise quarterback.
After plenty of evaluation — both of Fields and the crop of incoming rookie quarterbacks — the Bears made the decision to stick with Fields, who established himself as a playmaker despite an underwhelming supporting cast.
Now, heading into a pivotal third season, offensive coordinator Luke Getsy believes Fields has made significant progress from last offseason to now.
“The other thing is, as we evaluated Justin from last year I think the growth from where everybodyー including yourselvesー like how the way that you viewed the guy and the way the team viewed the guy to where he was at this time last year, to where he is now, I think he’s just light-years ahead of where he was, and I feel like he has a ton more to grow going forward,” Getsy said Saturday. “So we’re excited to try to get the best out of him moving forward and keep working toward where we think he can go.”
While Fields emerged as the NFL’s most dangerous running quarterback last season, it was by necessity. Fields needs to improve as a passer, and the Bears have made the moves to aid him.
General manager Ryan Poles has spent this offseason building around Fields — landing a bona fide No. 1 wide receiver in DJ Moore, as well as rookie Tyler Scott, to join the likes of Chase Claypool and Darnell Mooney. Poles upgraded the offensive line with the additions of right guard Nate Davis and first-round offensive tackle Darnell Wright.
Simply put, the Bears are expecting massive improvement from Fields in the passing department this season.
“You’re just talking purely completions, and you’re talking purely yards, right?” Getsy said. “So the yards that he ran for, a third of those came off of pass plays where he scrambled that he decided to run. That’s an element that we’re fortunate to have with him in that position. Then it goes to everything, right? Getting the team around him better, and us all being together for another year and the continuity that we have and the communication that he and I have.
“Where we were kind of at the beginning of the season to the end of the season, I think is a lot better, so we’re hoping to build off of all that stuff. So I think anytime you can be together with somebody and keep that consistency there’s going to be growth. He has a lot more growth ahead of him, and we’re excited to tap into that.”
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