Bears quarterback Justin Fields will play Saturday.
Bears head coach Matt Eberflus said Thursday that Fields will start Saturday against the Bills at Soldier Field. He might not be out there long, though — Eberflus said that the injured offensive line in front of Fields will affect his thought process when charting out snaps.
“That’s going to be discussed, for sure,” he said.
Right tackle Darnell Wright has an ankle injury, right guard Teven Jenkins could miss part of the season with a leg injury and Cody Whitehair — who can play both center and guard — has been practicing with an injured hand. Left guard Nate Davis has missed more practices than he’s participated in this spring.
Fields and the rest of the Bears’ healthy starters will play a “selected” number of downs, he said.
The Bills will start their own quarterback, superstar Josh Allen, who has thrown for at least 4,000 yards in each of the past three seasons. The Bears have never had a quarterback do so once.
Eberflus said that he did not coordinate the starting situation with the Bills.
None of the Bears starters, save strong-side linebacker Jack Sanborn, played in the second exhibition game against the Colts. Eberflus said then that Fields had put in plenty of work during two joint practices in suburban Indianapolis.
Fields played seven downs in the team’s preseason opener. He went 3-for-3 for 129 yards and two touchdowns; both were screen passes thrown behind the line of scrimmage.
