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If you’re a Chicago Bears fan, chances are you’re well aware of the team’s dubious history at the quarterback position. The Bears haven’t had a true franchise quarterback in over 50 years, no quarterback has ever thrown for 30 or more touchdowns, and no quarterback has ever eclipsed 4,000 yards passing.
That final stat has been burned into the brains of Bears fans seeing as they’re the only team that has yet to accomplish the feat, despite being the oldest franchise in the NFL. Bears quarterback Justin Fields knows the Bears have struggled in that area, but plans on finally ending that drought beginning this season.
Fields recently spoke with Bryant McFadden of CBS Sports’ All Things Covered podcast and was asked if he will finally be the player to eclipse 4,000 passing yards in a season for the Bears. The young quarterback didn’t mince words in his answer. “I will,” Fields said. “I plan on doing it this year, too.”
The @ChicagoBears have NEVER had a passer throw for 4,000 yards in a single season.
Justin Fields says that is going to change… THIS season.@atcoveredpod pic.twitter.com/89zAFmxEdF
— NFL on CBS đ (@NFLonCBS) July 20, 2023
It’s a bold predication for Fields, not only because no quarterback before him has done it but because he has yet to even throw for 3,000 yards in a season. Last year, Fields played in 15 games and threw for 2,242 yards. He’s averaging 152.3 yards per game in two seasons and has yet to throw for more than 300 yards in a single game. But there’s reason for Fields and Bears fans to feel optimistic that this record will end soon.
The Bears upgraded their offense in a big way this offseason, adding wide receivers D.J. Moore and rookie Tyler Scott, as well as tight end Robert Tonyan, to upgrade their receiving options. They also drafted right tackle Darnell Wright early in the 2023 NFL Draft and signed veteran guard Nate Davis to fortify the offensive line. For the players returning from 2022, including Darnell Mooney, Chase Claypool, Cole Kmet, Braxton Jones, and Teven Jenkins, they all now have experience in the same system for the second year in a row and are ahead of the learning curve.
That includes Fields, who has said multiple times how being in the same system two years in a row helps him feel more comfortable at the quarterback position. He was learning a new scheme in 2022 while also throwing to starting wide receivers who would be benchwarmers anywhere else.
The stage is set for him to take a monumental step forward in Year 3. Perhaps that even includes a 4,000-yard season.