NEWSLETTER
Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields spoke with reporters at Mercedes-Benz Stadium after receiving further medical evaluation in the immediate aftermath of the team’s loss to the Atlanta Falcons. Fields was seen holding his left shoulder walking off the field. And throughout the game’s second half, there were numerous instances in which Fields looked to be laboring due to injury.
When answering questions about the state of his health, he shared this:
Fields having known cramps and hamstring issues throughout the game makes the end-of-game play-calling even more confounding. We could tell that Fields wasn’t moving as well late as he was early. So … why call for designed runs with a player who is running at less than full strength? This was truly nonsensical from a play-calling perspective.
On the one hand, I want to tip my cap to Fields for having it in him to play through pain:
A courageous effort from Fields is heart-warming. But on the other hand, I find myself yelling don’t get un-alived at my computer screen as I read those tweets. This is a 3-8 Bears team that needs you more in the future than they do right now — especially as this franchise angles for a top-5 pick. There truly is no good reason to rush through a recovery period. And there is no sense in pushing it to (or beyond) the limit for this team, even if his teammates appreciate Fields’ actions. If all he needs is rest to get that shoulder in shape, then let him rest. But we’re probably too early in this injury assessment process to lean hard one way or another.
Even still … there is probably a strong case to sit Fields if he isn’t fully healthy and ready to go on Sunday. But we’ve got a few days before the Bears even start sorting through that process. We won’t get an injury report until Wednesday. And I feel as if a number of things can happen between now and then — as well as between now and next Sunday’s kickoff. The injury report is something we monitor like a hawk around these parts. And with Fields nursing a shoulder injury and some tired legs, we’ll need to be on it this week. Stay tuned.
You can watch Fields’ entire press conference here:
