The Chicago Bears have their QB of the future, Justin Fields waiting in the wings as Andy Dalton is set to start in Fields’ rookie year. But HC Matt Nagy had great news for Justin Fields fans ahead of the preseason.
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Bears HC Matt Nagy has been persistent that Andy Dalton, not the 11th overall pick Justin Fields, will be the starter come week 1.
The Bears brought in veteran QB Andy Dalton for the 2021 season. Last season with the Cowboys, Dalton started in nine games after Dak Prescott went down with a season-ending injury. Going 4-5 as a starter, Dalton completed 64.9% of his passes for 2,170 yards with 14 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
But many among NFL circles believe Fields will be a more promising prospect. The Ohio State alum torched defenses during his 2 years in Columbus, Ohio on his way to 2 Playoff appearances, one of which ended in a National Championship appearance.
Justin Fields career stats (1 year at Georgia, 2 at Ohio State).
– 34 games
– 68.4% completion
– 5,701 yards
– 67 TDs
– 9 INTs
– 178.8 passer efficiency rating
– 9.2 yards-per-attempt
– 1,133 rushing yards
– 19 rush TDs
– 4.4 yards-per-carry pic.twitter.com/gHvbGIZeL9— Cat Crave (@CatCraveBlog) April 3, 2021
However, despite Field’s backup status, we should be seeing a lot of him in the Bears preseason games.
Matt Nagy says Justin Fields will get a ton of reps in the preseason.
Bears head coach Matt Nagy has gotten some clarity on how much rookie quarterback Justin Fields will play. In his Thursday press conference, Nagy told reporters that the plan is for the No. 11 overall pick to play well into the second half.
“I would say that for Justin, [he’ll play] for sure past halftime,” Nagy said. “I hate to say that anything is 100 percent, but the mindset going into it is he’s going to get a lot of reps. Does that take him into the fourth quarter? Maybe. Who knows? We’ll see. But the more reps we can get him right now, the better. It’s only going to help him.”
Bears coach Matt Nagy said that rookie QB Justin Fields will play “past halftime” and potentially into the fourth quarter against the Dolphins on Saturday. pic.twitter.com/nIhbi6K8ZS
— TWSN (@TWSN___) August 12, 2021
“For him, it’s going to be coming out to start the game and being on the sideline and then going in, then getting to halftime and coming back out and playing with different guys,” Nagy said. “That’s the other thing in preseason, you’re not always playing with the same guys. So we need to get as many reps as we can with him.”
Justin Fields and the Bears will make their 2021 preseason debut against the Miami Dolphins on Saturday and it should be interesting to finally see him in the pros.
