Bears Head Coach Matt Eberflus might’ve been playing coy while playing the gamesmanship card when saying quarterback Justin Fields’ shoulder injury is day-to-day … but also a potential season-ender.
Whatever it was, I feel as if this report from NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport best explains why Eberflus laid out the extreme potential outcomes. Because Rapoport reporting a dislocated left shoulder for Fields is something that has plenty of outcomes:
Dang, man. Just when things were going well for the Bears at the quarterback position, an injury pops up. And a pretty serious one at that. I suppose that the injury is to Fields’ non-throwing shoulder is cause for a sigh of relief. But nevertheless, this is a serious injury we’ll be monitoring over the coming days.
For what it’s worth, Rapoport adds that Fields’ status for Sunday’s game against the Jets is still to be determined. But if the injury is this serious, then the Bears are probably better off proceeding with caution. There is absolutely no reason to risk further injury with your team’s best and most important player.
If Fields can’t go, then it’ll be Trevor Siemian starting in his place. Siemian has starting experience in the league. Heck, he has even started games at MetLife Stadium. But he doesn’t do what Fields can. And I’m already nervous about what the offense will look like without QB1 calling the shots. More on this as the story develops.
UPDATE (Michael): Mike Florio (Pro Football Talk) has seen the news of Fields’ reportedly dislocated shoulder, but has heard otherwise: “Per a source with direct knowledge of the situation, Fields did not suffer a dislocation.”
That’s … encouraging, theoretically. But before you get too excited, don’t forget that Fields is still inured. Florio made it a point to remind us. Something less-than a dislocation may be better news (if that’s even what this is), but it still wouldn’t be good news. Moreover, Florio reports that Fields “also had hamstring tightness” on Sunday, so you can throw that on the pile. He remains TBD for this Sunday.