Chicago Bears: Edwards compares Fields to former teammate

Edwards sees similarities between Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields and his former teammate with the Philadelphia Eagles, Jalen Hurts.

Despite having to suffer through a dismal 3-14 season in 2022, the Chicago Bears are still firmly behind Justin Fields. General manager Ryan Poles had the opportunity to reset the rookie contract and draft a quarterback. He could have then traded Fields for valuable draft picks.

Poles did not take that opportunity, however. He went all-in with Fields as his leader. He liked what Fields did last season without any targets or protection and liked it.

Fields was a big reason why the Bears were competitive in a lot of their games. If you think the season’s final results were terrible, imagine how much worse they could have been without him.

Poles isn’t the only one who sees Fields and likes what is there. Newly signed linebacker T.J. Edwards sees a lot of good and compared him to Jalen Hurts, one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL.

Edwards saw Hurts grow from his rookie season in 2020 to finish second in MVP voting in 2022, leading the Eagles to the Super Bowl. He sees Fields following those same footsteps.

TJ Edwards on how he compares Jalen Hurts with Chicago Bears QB Justin Fields

"One thing with Jalen was he was always just kind of calm and collected. That’s why we looked to him so much, just because he was always that calming factor. You do see similarities with J Fields. He doesn’t seem to get rattled out there in terms of when we’re mixing up looks on him and stuff like that. I’m really excited to play with a guy like that, a guy who can make all the plays, who can also lead this team."

Hurts/Fields similarities

Hurts was the Eagles’ second-round pick in 2020. Despite having Carson Wentz, the Eagles felt confident in Hurts. He became the starter in the final four games of the season and never looked back.

In his first full season as a starter, Hurts led Philadelphia to a record of 8-7. While he showed some improvement, there were still plenty of analysts who doubted his abilities.

Then, last season, the Eagles did what they could to help Hurts. They made some trades to help improve the offense. The biggest was the trade that acquired former Tennessee Titans star wide receiver A.J. Brown. Hurts ended up quieting the critics with his incredible season.

Fields also started out on the bench. Former head coach Matt Nagy wanted to have his sit out the entire season, playing only sparingly. However, the fans and people around the league wanted to see him start.

The Bears had Andy Dalton as the starter. However, like Wentz in Philly, Dalton was just a placeholder for Fields. Nagy resisted playing Fields in his rookie season so he (along with GM Ryan Pace) was let go.

In came Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus. They saw Fields’ potential and had him start. Without having many targets to throw to and absolutely no protection, he had a historic season with his legs. He finished with 1,143 rushing yards, the second-most in a season for a quarterback in NFL history.

Now, in his third season, Poles added targets and protection for Fields. The addition included D.J. Moore, one of the top wide receivers in the league.

We still have to see what Fields does but it appears as if the Chicago Bears brass feels that the young quarterback can take another step up.

Edwards saw the growth Hurts went through in his first three seasons. He sees Fields in a similar place this season. Remember, he also got a firsthand view of Fields last season. Despite getting sacked six times, he completed 67 percent of his passes, had two touchdown throws, and ran for 95 yards. He almost engineered an amazing upset.

It is amazing how much better Hurts got when the team surrounded him with talent. This is what the Chicago Bears just did for Fields. he may not be a contender for MVP yet, but he should have a much better all-around season.