Bears quarterback Justin Fields is entering a pivotal Year 2 in his development, where he’s learning a new offense under offensive coordinator Luke Getsy.
Fields saw his first live action of the summer in last Saturday’s preseason opener against the Chiefs, where he completed 4 of 7 passes for 48 yards with a 78.3 passer rating. He also had one rush for 10 yards.
Getsy was encouraged with what he saw in the preseason opener, but he knows Fields still has room for improvement.
“You got to see a little bit of everything of what we’ve been working on,” Getsy said. “And then you got to see a little bit of athleticism where he can make up the difference if something’s not right. So I thought it was a strong start for him, but not where he needs to be.”
Fields had some nice plays in his limited reps, including a downfield throw to receiver Darnell Mooney for 26 yards and a 19-yard completion to receiver Tajae Sharpe, who made an impressive sideline catch.
But there was one play that served as a teaching moment for Getsy. Following Fields’ completion to Sharpe, he left the pocket too early on a 10-yard run. He slid and was hit in the head by Chiefs cornerback Dicaprio Bootle, but there was no penalty.
“He vacated too quickly,” Getsy said. “He skipped No. 2 in the progression. He kind of went left/right and they took away No. 1. I think he got out of there a little too quick. That was the one play, honestly, that I wish we had back for him. I love the decision to slide, obviously, but he had a chance to maybe hang in there just a tick longer.”
One of the critiques of Fields from the preseason opener was that, at times, he held onto the ball too long. Getsy understands it’s an adjustment all young quarterbacks have to make, which is why the Bears work on it in practice.
“Typically in college it’s been my experience, you have a little bit more time to throw the ball than you do in the NFL, so your shot clock’s way quicker,” Getsy said. “You have to listen to your feet a lot more at our level. And when your feet tell you, ‘that guy’s not open, it’s time to move on and go,’ you can’t hang on. That’s the biggest thing.
“It’s just the pace, it’s the time clock that we’re training the heck out of. I think he’s starting to do a really good job with it. He had two plays out there [in Monday’s practice] where he kind of, there was something, that like kind of twitch that he wanted to go, but then he’s like, ‘what, the pocket’s great, let me chill.’ And it was cool to see him respond that way.”
Fields will see his second preseason action of the summer when the Bears face off against the Seahawks on Thursday night. But coming off a short week, Fields is expected to see limited reps once again.
