The Bears fired their head coach and General Manager after the 2021 season, which is a pretty good way of knowing that things didn’t go as hoped for the team during quarterback Justin Fields’ rookie season.
Fields opened the season as Andy Dalton’s backup, but took over as the starter after Dalton was injured in Week 2 and the Bears went 2-8 in his starts before his own injury knocked him out of action. Fields threw seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions while completing just under 59 percent of his passes, so there wasn’t much to smile about when it came to his initial experience as an NFL quarterback.
On Tuesday, Fields reported to his second training camp and told reporters that last year’s flop served as motivation for him to take the necessary steps forward this season.
“Failure pushes me to go even harder,” Fields said, via Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times. “So, you know, that’s really all I’ve got to say. I want to do everything I can to win that trophy and get that ring. . . . I’m a big believer in, ‘Everything happens for a reason,’ ’’ Fields said. ‘‘Who knows how I would have taken it if I had a great game every game? Maybe I wouldn’t have that hunger still.”
Hopes are not high for the Bears in their first season with head coach Matt Eberflus and General Manager Ryan Poles, but growth from Fields would be a silver lining regardless of whether their final record shows the same kind of progress.