With opinions on Justin Fields’ future in Chicago changing with every pass he throws or run he makes, it’s a safe bet that none of his teammates believe he’ll be leaving Halas Hall after this season.
Since Sunday’s 20-17 loss to Cleveland, teammates on both sides of the ball have jumped to his defense, though it’s a predictable reaction to talk among fans and the media about their leader being traded.
After Sunday’s loss, reporters questioned wide receiver DJ Moore about the future of the current Bears starting quarterback.
“You all asked me that, what, last week?” Moore told reporters, though the question posed to him last week was slightly different. “I was asked that last week. Where did you all see this?
” As in, everywhere?
“What makes him not the quarterback for the Chicago Bears right now?” Moore stated. “I understand they’ve got everyone coming out (in the draft), but what’s it like two of them? They’re not better than Justin, in my opinion. So be cool.
“On the other side of the ball, and during his weekly WSCR AM-670 spot on the Parkins & Spiegel Show, cornerback Jaylon Johnson was asked if Fields should be the starting quarterback next year.
“He’s our quarterback,” Johnson said, according to Parkins and Spiegel. “For example, we believe in Justin because we’ve seen him perform at a high level. It’s not as if we just have a quarterback and say, ‘nah, he’s not it.’ No way, no how. He seems to tick a lot of boxes for me. We’re only going to become closer, and we’re only going to defend him. We’re only going to pump him up and put everything we have into him because he’s our guy.
“He’s the guy in the locker room, he makes plays, he’s the guy who leads us.” He’s the guy who, in a way, takes everything on the chin. If anyone is going to say it’s his fault, it’s him. So, there’s no better reason for us to go after our quarterback than what we have in our locker room and what Justin has done for us and our team.
“If Carolina cooperates and finishes with the worst record in the league, the Bears could have the opportunity to take USC’s Caleb Williams first overall.” The Bears acquired Carolina’s draft pick in the DJ Moore trade earlier this year.
“I mean, just overall, we know what the talks are,” Johnson said. “Of course, the No. 1 pick is usually used to select a quarterback.”
“It doesn’t mean the players want to hear about it,” Johnson says, urging everyone to keep it to themselves and away from the players.
“Like, as far as bringing that into the locker room, you all can keep that in a sense on Twitter, keep that on social media, but don’t bring that to our locker room and try to project what you guys are thinking on us and trying to create a story,” Johnson told the newspaper. “We’re not feeling insignificant. We have a feeling Justin is that guy.”
Johnson had the two laughing when he mentioned the Bears’ close locker room and how he stood up for their quarterback.
“There’s very few (players) in the locker room, that maybe shouldn’t even be in the locker room, if they’re going, ‘oh yeah, we should take Caleb,” he went on to say. “No, I don’t think that’s the case.” Again, our locker room is too close-knit for that.
” Fields’ passer rating plummeted following Sunday’s loss, a statistic tainted by an interception that incorrectly counts against him. A Hail Mary at halftime clearly hit the ground and was ruled an interception for the Browns. Nonetheless, Fields’ statistics were dismal. He now has an 85.6 passer rating, just above last year’s 85.2, and his completion percentage has dropped to 61.4%. It is 1% higher than the previous year.
His touchdown percentage has dropped significantly since returning from a dislocated thumb. He was leading the league, but his current percentage is 4.7%, which is lower than last year’s (5.3%).
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