As a rookie quarterback who isn’t expected to begin the season as the starter, Justin Fields should receive plenty of preseason snaps.
But Bears head coach Matt Nagy is still weighing just how much the young quarterback should be on the field in August.
During his Tuesday press conference, Nagy said he’s likely to scheme for extra protection when Fields is playing.
“The only way we can evaluate is by seeing him play,” said Nagy, via Jason Lieser of the Chicago Sun-Times. “He’s gotta get valuable reps.
“We gotta be able to evaluate — that’s the beauty of the preseason — but we also need these guys for Week 1. It’s that Catch-22. You play somebody and all of a sudden they get hurt and go, ‘You dummy. Why’d you do that?’ The other [side] is you don’t play them and [people] say they need the reps.”
Fields will get some snaps against Miami’s defense in a controlled environment this week when Chicago practices with the Dolphins. But Fields could definitely use the live reps that come with the exhibition matchups.
Unlike some teams, Nagy said the Bears’ starters will play in Saturday’s contest. That means Fields will be the second quarterback to play behind Andy Dalton. We’ll see on Saturday just how much action Fields is a part of.