Bears quarterback Justin Fields’ rookie season didn’t unfold as planned, where he faced his fair share of ups and downs during what was a “weird” season.
It started before the regular season when Fields wasn’t given the opportunity to compete for the starting job. Fields started the season as the backup to Andy Dalton, but Fields was the clear-cut starter by Week 5.
New Bears head coach Matt Eberflus admires Fields’ leadership, referring to him as a “super leader.”
For Fields, he’s looking forward to stepping into more of a leadership role in his second season. Especially given he’s going to be the starting quarterback from Day 1.
“I think last year was kind of weird, just me not starting the season being the starting quarterback,” Fields said. “It was kind of a weird leadership role. I think me and Andy would kind of switch off.
“But now that I am starting off the season as a starting quarterback, I think I’ll be more comfortable playing that leader role. There’s no more, ‘Oh, he’s a rookie, this and that.’ It’s time now, so I’m excited … and I can’t wait to get to work.”
For Fields, that means a clean slate with a new coaching staff, including an offensive coordinator in Luke Getsy who’s going to build the offense around Fields’ strengths.
“It’s a clean start and fresh start,” Fields said. “They have a great plan in place, and I’m ready to follow it.”
