The Chicago Bears are less than two weeks from reporting to training camp at Halas Hall To begin preparations for their 2022 season. Although there are very low expecatations for the team, there is signficant anticipation for the second-year quarterback Justin Fields, who had a trying rookie year. Although questions remain about Fields' potential as an elite quarterback, he did prove vital leadership tendencies during a dismal six-win season for Chicago.

Fields' Never Lost His Composure During a Very Trying Rookie Campaign

What made Fields' 2021 season so tumultuous was the high expectations and the sheer excitement generated when he was drafted by the Bears, followed by the disappointing outcome. Chicago's general manager Ryan Pace traded up in the 2021 NFL Draft to select the Ohio State quarterback with the 11th overall selection. The selection of Fields was met with jubilation as the media and Bears fans believed that the franchise had finally landed the elite quarterback that had eluded the Bears for decades.

Following the draft, many believed Fields deserved to be Chicago's starting quarterback to begin the season and that the Bears' best chance to be successful in 2021 was to start the rookie quarterback immediately. Head coach Matt Nagy didn't share the same sentiment and believed that the young quarterback should learn from the bench and would benefit from not playing immediately. The issue with Nagy's handling of Fields during the offseason and in the preseason was that the head coach never gave his rookie quarterback practice reps or game reps with the starting offense. Even after the Ohio State quarterback demonstrated a high level of play during in-game action against the Miami Dolphins in Chicago's preseason opener by recording a rushing and passing touchdown, Nagy made no changes to the quarterback situation.

Nagy still believed Fields wasn't ready for the Bears' starting quarterback role, despite the Ohio State quarterback playing in several prominent games in college, including Big Ten Championship games, playoff games, and significant Bowl games. Fields wouldn't get his chance to start with the Bears until veteran starting quarterback Andy Dalton went down with a knee injury in Week 2. Fields would start his first NFL game in Week 3, which would be a disaster as he was sacked nine times, as Nagy received immense criticism for an offensive game plan that did nothing to protect his young quarterback. Chicago's rookie quarterback would start the next seven games for the Bears, and struggle significant during a portion of those games. In those seven games started by Fields, he only passed for four touchdowns and was intercepted eight times while being sacked 29 times. https://youtu.be/-tE0v1_MCtU To make matters worse, it seemed Fields wasn't receiving help from Nagy, as Nagy appeared reluctant to change his offensive scheme to accommodate the strength of his young quarterback. Additionally, the first-year quarterback appeared confused by Chicago's offensive scheme during games at times. Fields would battle injuries for the remainder of the season after suffering a rib injury in Week 11 against the Ravens. He would only start two more games for the rest of the season after missing games due to an ankle injury and COVID.

Leadership Traits Have Mattered For Bears' Quarterbacks

Following the end of the season, Bears' ownership would fire Nagy due to three disappointing seasons and an inability to build a successful offense. Although there were questions about Fields' physical play in 2021, there were no questions about his character traits as a quarterback. The rookie quarterback never lost his composure or chose to blame others for his poor play and shortcomings despite having the right. Although Nagy decided to start Andy Dalton to begin the season, Fields never complained about his role as a backup and had a good relationship with Dalton and Nick Foles. Following the end of the season, the rookie quarterback was never highly critical or demeaning of his former head coach despite having a legitimate reason to be upset with how his rookie season turned out.

With each obstacle or difficulty Fields faced, he never lost his composure as he appeared to blame himself for the short-coming instead of blaming others. The rookie quarterback demonstrating those leadership traits matters to a team as the Bears have had first-round quarterbacks previously who handled those situations very differently. Mitchell Trubisky was an embattled former first round selection for the Bears who had his ups and downs as a starting quarterback over a four year span with the team. Despite his inconsistent play in 2019 and 2020, many of Trubisky's teammates loved with and for the quarterback as he was seen a hard-working leader. Additionally, the quarterback always blamed on himself before blaming others. The same could not be said for Chicago's 1999 first-round quarterback Cade McNown, who only played two seasons with the team. Despite having moments of success as a starting quarterback in his brief time in Chicago, McNown was despised by his teammates for his cocky attitude and poor work ethic. Ahead of the final game of the 2000 season, members of the Bears roster went to head coach Dick Jauron and requested for the second-year quarterback to be benched as they believed he didn't deserve to start the season finale against the Detroit Lions.

Fields has demonstrated that he is ready to lead the Bears in 2022 based on the way he handled and battled all the difficulties he faced in 2021. Chicago's second-year quarterback has trained all offseason and demonstrated all the intangibles needed from an elite-level quarterback. Although Fields still needs to prove himself from a performance standpoint, it's likely that he will develop into a successful quarterback due his ability to stay composed during difficult times.