Justin Fields Says He'll Be 1st Bears QB to Throw for 4K Yards: 'I Plan on Doing It'

Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields has his sights set on making team history, and he hopes to achieve it during the 2023 season.

No Bears quarterback has ever reached the 4,000-yard passing mark in a single campaign. During an appearance this week on the All Things Covered podcast (h/t Pro Football Talk's Michael David Smith), Fields made it clear that being the first to do so is on his mind.

"I will," he said. "I plan on doing it this year, too. I plan on doing it this year."

The Bears single-season passing yardage record currently belongs to Erik Kramer, who threw for a career-high 3,838 yards and 29 touchdowns in 1995.

While the Bears don't have much of a history of excellence at the quarterback position, the fanbase was energized by the selection of Fields with the No. 11 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft.

He was initially brought along slowly by beginning his rookie season as the backup to veteran Andy Dalton, but Fields went on to start 10 games as a rookie and 15 games last season.

The 24-year-old signal-caller has already proved to be one of the NFL's most explosive quarterbacks with his legs, as he led all QB's last season with 1,143 rushing yards, which is the second most in a single season for a quarterback in NFL history.

By comparison, Fields threw for just 2,242 yards, so he has a lot of improving to do to reach the 4,000-yard passing plateau.

In fact, Fields has barely more than 4,000 career passing yards in 25 starts and 27 games over two seasons, throwing for a total of 4,112 yards.

Improving accuracy would go a long way toward moving Fields toward the 4,000-yard mark, and he did get better in that regard last season, improving to a 60.4 percent completion percentage after completing 58.9 percent of his passes as a rookie.

Fields should also benefit from an improved supporting cast around him this season, especially in the form of new No. 1 wide receiver D.J. Moore, who was acquired in an offseason trade with the Carolina Panthers.

Chicago also signed former Green Bay Packers tight end Robert Tonyan to pair with Cole Kmet, plus it selected a new starting offensive tackle in Darnell Wright with the No. 10 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft.

Fields is still developing, but there is little doubt that he has the arm talent needed to be the Bears first 4,000-yard passer, even if it doesn't happen as soon as this season.