The Chicago Bears are 1-0 in the Caleb Williams Era.
Meanwhile, the quarterback Williams replaced in Chicago is getting another turn in Pittsburgh.
Head Coach Mike Tomlin is giving Justin Fields another start when the Steelers take to the field in Week 2 against the Denver Broncos. ESPN reporter Brooke Pryor has the news (and NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero has a longer quote from Tomlin):
Mike Tomlin is preparing Justin Fields to start vs. Denver
Russell Wilson “feels better today than over the weekend.”
Tomlin says they’ll start with his participation, level of participation, quality of participation and then analyze if he can protect himself and be…
— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) September 10, 2024
Clearly, Russell Wilson’s calf injury isn’t healthy enough for him to give it a full go. In the meantime, Pittsburgh is fortunate to have a worthwhile backup quarterback who has starting experience in the NFL.
The Bears are inching toward adding a 2025 fourth-round pick thanks to Justin Fields
In case you missed it, Justin Fields went 17-for-23 on pass attempts, threw for 156 yards, and posted a 91.9 rating in Pittsburgh’s Week 1 win against the Atlanta Falcons. Fields also added 57 rushing yards for good measure. No, Fields didn’t throw or run for a touchdown. In fact, all of the scoring came off the foot of place-kicker Chris Boswell. However, it is worth pointing out that Fields had no turnovers (although he did have a fumble that he recovered). But after securing a Week 1 win while limiting mistakes, it only makes sense that Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin will ride it out with Fields until further notice.
Here are some things others are saying about Fields’ Week 1 performance:
- “Justin Fields easily had enough positive plays to keep the job for another week.” –NFL analyst Gregg Rosenthal
- “Steelers QB Justin Fields posted the highest PFF passing grade (99.4) on deep attempts in Week 1.” –Bradley Locker, PFF writer
- “Let’s give Justin Fields his flowers BTW. He played a really clean game and was a big reason why the Steelers won. Stats don’t reflect it with TDs but he made so many critical plays.” –Former NFL QB Kurt Benkert
To his credit, Justin Fields made some nice throws to beat the Falcons:
Justin Fields made a few cool throws in Week 1 pic.twitter.com/3tPu7PcB6J
— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) September 10, 2024
We were officially put on Justin Fields Draft Pick Watch when the Steelers tabbed him as their starter in Week 1. Seeing Fields get a second start keeps us with one eye on the former Bears QB’s status in Pittsburgh. All Fields has to do is play well enough to receive 51 percent of the offensive snaps for the sixth-round pick the Bears are getting from the Steelers to turn into a fourth-rounder. The jump from the sixth to the fourth might not be a big deal to some. But to those folks who think that, here is a short list of fourth-round picks the Bears have made who turned out to be quality ballplayers:
- 2020: Eddie Jackson (Pro Bowler, All-Pro safety), Tarik Cohen (All-Pro return ace)
- 2016: Nick Kwiatkoski (starting linebacker for the Bears and Saints)
- 2010: Corey Wootton (ended Brett Favre’s career)
- 2009: Henry Melton (Pro Bowl 3-technique DT)
- 2005: Kyle Orton (your favorite Bears fan’s favorite QB)
- 2004: Nathan Vasher (Pro Bowl cornerback)
- 2002: Alex Brown (underrated defensive end who was a primary starter in the NFL for 8 seasons)
And this doesn’t even include punter Tory Taylor, who was taken in the fourth round of April’s NFL Draft.
Don’t get it twisted. I’m not asking for you to care about what Justin Fields does in Pittsburgh. Fields and the Bears parted ways on good terms, which is something not too many exes can say about each other. But what I am asking for is your understanding as to why I care about how much Fields plays. I’ve been mostly pleased with what Bears GM Ryan Poles has done with his Day 3 picks since arriving in Chicago. Giving Poles and his staff another fourth-rounder to play with gives the Bears another shot at building out this roster. All I want is Poles to get as many quality spins at the wheel as possible. Full stop.
