On Wednesday, Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields made comments that some perceived as him calling out his team’s coaching.
“You know, could be coaching, I think,” Fields answered when asked why he thought he was playing robotically, according to ESPN’s Courtney Cronin. “At the end of the day, they are doing their job when they are giving me what to look at, but at the end of the day, I can’t be thinking about that when the game comes. I prepare myself throughout the week, and then when the game comes, it’s time to play free at that point. Thinking less and playing more.”
While Fields later insisted to reporters that there wasn’t any sort of rift between himself and the Chicago coaching staff, his comments received widespread attention. At practice on Thursday, the Ohio State product made a point to poke fun at the incident, giving Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy a hug while waiving to the cameras.
Hug it out guys, hug it out pic.twitter.com/3q0FIdBLcm
— Bears Talk (@NBCSBears) September 21, 2023
While Fields might have been all smiles on Thursday, the reality is that Chicago needs to get its season on track following a disappointing 0-2 start to the 2023 campaign and 0-12 dating back to the 2022 season. In a 27-17 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, the 2021 first-round pick completed 16 of his 29 pass attempts for 211 yards, one touchdown and one interception, in addition to scoring another touchdown on the ground.
Through his first 27 games as a starter for the Bears, Fields has amassed just a 5-22 record with an underwhelming career completion percentage of 59.8. That has led to some speculation that his days as Chicago’s starting signal-caller could be limited, and that noise will likely only grow louder should the Bears fall to 0-3 to start the season when they face the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs this Sunday at Soldier Field.
[ESPN]
