Pivotal point for Bears QB Fields? 'I don't really stress over stuff like that'
Justin Fields is no fool.
He knows the Bears hold two first-round draft picks next spring. Those picks could both wind up among the top five picks. And he also knows what top-five picks mean. Teams that high up in the draft have to do their due diligence on the quarterbacks.
Whatever general manager Ryan Poles ultimately decides to do with Fields, he is going to take a hard look at USC's Caleb Williams and North Carolina's Drake Maye. He absolutely has to.
Fields has five more games to win over Poles. The 24-year-old quarterback is under contract through 2024 and the team has an option on 2025. But that won't matter if Poles wants to start over with a rookie quarterback. Poles, remember, did not draft Fields.
Fields knows all of this. He's also not all that concerned about it.
"So me, personally, I'm just focused on what I can control, and the rest is in God's hands," Fields said. "Really, you just put everything in God's hands and you know it's going to turn out good for you. Wherever, if I'm here next year, if I'm not, football doesn't define who I am as a person. My happiness will still be in the same place, will still be in God."
Fields went on to note that he knows that he's "blessed" to be in the position that he's in and that "I don't really stress over stuff like that."
He's clearly not thinking about the big-picture implications. He knows these five games are important, but he also can't really afford to look beyond the Detroit Lions on Sunday.
These final five games will be crucial. They will be for Fields, for coach Matt Eberflus and his staff, and for the direction of the franchise. Since returning from a thumb injury that set him out for a month, Fields played well against Detroit and Minnesota.
A fourth-quarter meltdown resulted in a loss at Ford Field in Detroit. Fields lost a fumble that essentially ended that game in the final minute. Two fourth-quarter fumbles nearly cost the Bears the game in Minnesota, too.
When rookie running back Roschon Johnson fumbled early in the fourth quarter against Minnesota, a fumble that the Bears recovered, Fields got on him. He reminded the team that ball security was vital with a six-point lead. Fields felt sick to his stomach, then, when it was he who fumbled the ball away a few plays later.
Fields was clearly upset with himself for the fumbles. After the game he spoke up in front of his teammates and thanked them for sticking with him, apologizing for the two fumbles.
"We know he's a competitor," Johnson said. "We know that he doesn't mean to put the team in any type of harm as we're trying to win a game. So it's just a matter of both of us just being intentful about just holding onto the ball."
Taking care of the football over the last five games will be key. Fields has fumbled 35 times in 35 career games.
"At the end of the day, I've got to protect the ball and take care of the football because, on offense, that's the No. 1 goal is taking care of the ball and not turning the ball over," Fields said.
The Bears have a rematch against the Lions coming up Sunday at Soldier Field. Fields has rushed for 100 yards or more in each of the past three games against the Lions. Few teams have found success running against the Lions this season, but Fields did when he ran for 104 yards on 18 carries in Week 11.
Fields credited his offensive linemen for putting him in position to make big runs. These teams saw each other just three weeks ago. Fields' running exploits will be fresh in the minds of the Lions.
"Teams are going to play you differently," Fields said. "We'll see how they come out Sunday because they are probably looking at that, so they'll come out with a change of plan."
Fields is trying to prove that the Bears don't need a change of plans, not at quarterback anyway. A win over Detroit would be a great next step.