The future is bright for Bears quarterback Justin Fields. Although his rookie season was rocky, there was plenty to be excited about as the former first-round pick gets a fresh start with new offensive coordinator Luke Getsy.
While the Bears have yet to hit the practice field — Chicago’s offseason program is expected to start in early April — there’s already reasons to be excited about the potential in 2022. Getsy stressed the importance of building the offense around Fields, which sounds simple yet meaningful. In that regard, Fields is expected to make a big jump in his second season.
NFL.com’s Gregg Rosenthal ranked all 62 starting quarterbacks in 2021. Fields clocked in at No. 28, which ranked behind only New England’s Mac Jones (16) among rookie quarterbacks.
The tools are there. He ran more than expected, and his deep accuracy came as advertised. Missing five starts down the stretch was disappointing, but he’s going to be learning a new offense in 2022 anyhow. Wasting a year with Matt Nagy and GM Ryan Pace was predictable, but I’m just as high on Fields now as I was on draft day.
Clearly, Fields still has plenty of work to do if he’s to become a top quarterback in the league. But considering the circumstances with poor protection and with a coach in Matt Nagy that didn’t prioritize his development, and the fact that he was a rookie, there’s reason to believe he’s going to make a leap in Year 2.
As for the other Bears starters in 2021, Andy Dalton came in at No. 33 and Nick Foles, who started one game in place of an injured Fields and Dalton, clocked in at No. 46.
Dalton is slated to hit free agency next month while Foles still has one year left on his contract and will likely serve as Fields’ backup in 2022.
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