Glazer: Justin Fields 'Has a Ways to Go' to Convince Bears He's QB of Future

Justin Fields and the Chicago Bears have had a tough start to the NFL season, and the organization may be questioning whether Fields is a player worth building around.

Fox Sports' Jay Glazer reported on that uncertainty Sunday:

"Right now, the jury's still out whether he's their quarterback of the future. And he had a little bumpy ride this week with their coaches. What they're gonna do for him this week, however, is have a lot more designed runs for him and a lot more plays where he's rolling out of the pocket to throw. But they also told him, look, if you don't see anything after your first ands second reads, just throw the ball. But Justin Fields still has a ways to go to convince the Chicago Bears that he's their quarterback of the future."

Fields made waves this week when he said he felt he was playing "robotic" to start the season and seemed to suggest that a constant influx of coaching points was keeping him too much in his own head during games, preventing him from playing more instinctually and freely.

He later clarified that he wasn't blaming the coaches for his struggles, but not before he created something of a media frenzy.

He hasn't looked like the player who electrified fans in the 2022 season, rushing for 1,143 yards and eight scores while providing some of the most memorable highlights of the year.

Instead, his play has looked more tentative in 2023, and the results—427 passing yards, two touchdowns, three interceptions, a 60.6 completion percentage, 62 rushing yards, one score on the ground and, most importantly, an 0-2 record—haven't been great.

Fields is now just 5-22 as a starter, and while that also comes down to a poor roster around him during his career and questionable coaching, there also remain major questions about his ability to be effective in the pocket. For his career he's completed just 59.8 percent of his passes and thrown 24 interceptions in 29 appearances, and he's already taken 10 sacks in two games this season.

This season is something of a final audition for Fields. The Bears will not only have their own first-round pick but also the Carolina Panthers' first-round selection, and like the Bears, the Panthers have started the season 0-2.

That means it's very possible the Bears could have two top-five picks in the 2024 draft and could either be in position to draft a player like USC's Caleb Williams—the defending Heisman Trophy winner and likely the top quarterback available in next year's draft—or be loaded with enough ammunition to trade up to No. 1 in an effort to select him.

A strong season from Fields would allow the Bears to focus that draft capital on other team needs. But so far, he hasn't played well enough to quiet the questions about his ability to be a franchise quarterback.