Chicago Bears training camp gets underway in one week and the team is expected to have one of their top playmakers, wide receiver Darnell Mooney, ready to go when practices begin. That is music to quarterback Justin Fields’ ears, who can’t wait to get one of his favorite targets back.
Fields met with reporters following his second annual youth football camp on Tuesday and spoke about Mooney returning to the field after missing the final five games of last season with a broken ankle. “[Mooney’s] ready to go,” Fields said via Mark Potash of the Chicago Sun-Times. “One thing about Mooney: He’s one of the hardest workers I know. When he wasn’t [healthy], he’s working, and he’s not gonna come back out of shape. That’s one thing he prides himself on is not being tired.”
Mooney has yet to take part in any official team workout this offseason but certainly looks ready to go in recent social media clips. He’s been working out with Fields and other receivers multiple times over the last month with a new physique after hitting the weight room. Fields certainly took notice of his transformation.
“We made a few jokes, saying that the NFL’s gonna drug-test him soon because it looks like he’s been on a few steroids,” Fields said jokingly. “He’s been working hard, trying to get back right. We always joked with him last year on how skinny he was. So he’s definitely put on some weight and ready to go.”
More important than his weight gain is how he looks running on the field. Mooney has been hard at work rehabbing his ankle and looks like his old self. After a year in which he caught 40 receptions for 493 yards and two touchdowns (all career lows), he’s out to show he can produce like he did in 2021 when he eclipsed 1,000 yards. His quarterback certainly thinks he can get back to where he was and then some.
“I’m excited to see his comeback, and I know he’s gonna come back better than he was,” Fields said.
