Chicago Bears: Pressure now on Fields as he has tools to succeed

Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles spent the offseason getting the tools that quarterback Justin Fields severely lacked in 2022. Now the pressure is on Fields to succeed.

We all know how the 2022 season went for the Chicago Bears. They finished 3-14, the worst record in the NFL. Quarterback Justin Fields, the franchise’s new face, had a historic season running the ball, becoming only the third quarterback to run for over 1,000 yards in a season.

The problem was that Fields struggled to throw the ball. He completed 60.4 percent of his passes for just 2,242 yards. He had 17 touchdown throws to 11 interceptions.

In order for a quarterback to succeed in the league he has to be able to throw.

The thing is that Fields did not have the weapons to throw or the protection he needed to get the ball to his targets. He was sacked 55 times, the most in the league. His receivers had trouble creating separation enough to make uncontested catches. When they got the ball, they dropped critical passes too many times.

The Bears entered the offseason with the tools to help Fields. As a result of Poles’ tinkering with the roster, Chicago had almost $100 million in salary cap space, easily the most in the NFL.

Additionally, Poles had 10 draft picks, including the number one overall pick. He traded that top pick and received a number of important draft picks, both this year and in future drafts. More importantly, he received a true weapon for Fields — wide receiver D.J. Moore.

Between 2019 and 2021, Moore had three consecutive seasons with over 1,000 receiving yards. As a comparison, the entire Chicago Bears franchise has only five players who had back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in its history. No Bears receiver ever had three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons.

Poles also signed tight end Robert Tonyan to give Fields another big target to go along with Cole Kmet. In addition, he signed guard Nate Davis to help protect Fields.

In the draft, Poles picked up right tackle Darnell Wright, running back, Roschon Johnson, and wide receiver Tyler Scott. Johnson adds toughness and elusiveness to the backfield. With him and free agent additions D’Onta Foreman and Travis Homer, the rushing attack doesn’t have to depend on Fields as much as it did in 2022. That means more meaningful runs and fewer hits for him.

In Scott, Fields has a true speed threat. Scott is a big play waiting to happen. He can take a short pass and turn it into a big play or he can just take off and blow past defenders downfield. In college, he averaged 44.6 yards per touchdown.

This is a revamped Chicago Bears offense. Offensive coordinator Luke Getsy can now run the system he wants with the weapons he needs.

Now the pressure is on Fields to do what the Bears envisioned for him when they drafted him. No, it wasn’t Poles who drafted him. However, Fields has the talent to become an electric quarterback. Now he has the tools to do so.

Fans are tired of always hearing that the Chicago Bears have a running back playing quarterback. Now the narrative can change.

This is the moment Fields shows the NFL world how good he can become. He made some electrical plays with his legs in 2022. He also showed flashes of what he can do with his arm. Now, with better targets and better protection, he can show how good he can be on a consistent basis and help bring back winning to the Chicago Bears franchise.