Perhaps now a collective sigh of relief can be had by Chicago Bears (3-8) fans. Despite the worst-case scenario being left on the table, quarterback Justin Fields will not go on injured reserve due to the shoulder injury he sustained in the Bears’ 27-24 loss to the Atlanta Falcons this past Sunday.
Fields described the injury to his non-throwing shoulder as “pretty much like an AC joint”.
“So, it’s a separated shoulder with partially torn ligaments,” Fields told reporters after the Bears’ walkthrough practice on Wednesday. “That’s pretty much my understanding of it.”
The second-year quarterback said the pain was “pretty high” at the moment but did not rule out playing on Sunday. He said he is holding off on medication and seeing if the pain subsides enough to play through.
Bears Justin Fields Gets Honest About Health Status
Willing and Able
Fields spoke of needing to be able to work through his throwing motion as well as the other responsibilities of a quarterback at close to full capacity before he would feel like could give it a go against the Jets in Week 12.
“If I can play and I’m not furthering the risk of injury and I can do what I need to do to protect myself, that’ll be good enough for me to play, Fields said before later saying, “Of course, I’m not gonna sacrifice playing in this game for me risking that I might not be able to play later…Just listening to my body and making sure I’m not forcing anything.”
Specifically discussed #JustinFIelds AC joint sprain (separated shoulder) and ability to play thru here in video from #CommandCenter on Sunday. Did not mention associated partial ligament tear but that is what always happens with this injury. https://t.co/muK0tx6VOq
— David J. Chao – ProFootballDoc (@ProFootballDoc) November 23, 2022
Fields said after last Sunday’s loss that he suffered the injury on the first play of the Bears’ final drive. It was a run that gained one yard.
He also said that he was playing tired “pretty much the entire fourth quarter”.
The Bears have an experienced backup in Trevor Siemian who has 29 starts in his career. But Bears head coach Matt Eberflus declined to say which way he was leaning with his starting decision saying Fields will go “if he’s ready to play”.
Eberflus did say that the Bears’ offense wouldn’t change too much with Siemian. But they would obviously have to replace the quarterback runs on which Fields has thrived with more passes.
The first-year head coach also acknowledged there is a bit of an advantage to the secrecy.
No Secrets for Jets
Eberflus’ counterpart on Sunday will be Robert Saleh. Saleh made no bones about who will be under center for his surprising 6-4 club. Last year’s No. 2 overall pick, Zach Wilson has been benched in favor of third-stringer Mike White. What’s more, Wilson will be a healthy scratch while veteran and former Super Winner Joe Flacco will be White’s backup.
It’s a stunning fall for Wilson. He overtook Fields for the 2021 NFL Draft’s second quarterback taken behind Trevor Lawrence largely on the strength of his final season.
A season that was truncated to just eight games for Fields Ohio State Buckeyes amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Things very well could have shaken out differently had Fields gotten a full complement of games in his final collegiate season. But given the sentiments coming out of New York compared to those with the Bears, the former’s choice has worked out well for the latter.
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