New Stat Revelation Should End Justin Fields Trade Nonsense

Barely after the regular season ended for the Chicago Bears, the talks began. Former executives and other experts called on the team to consider trading Justin Fields. They have the #1 overall pick. Flip him to a QB-needy team and take their preferred choice of options like Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud, and Will Levis. This is the off-season. People need things to talk about. Still, it feels like this conversation is being unfairly forced. Fields showed improvement across the board in 2022 despite little help around him. He has two years left on his rookie deal and will enter the second year in the same offense, which should mean more improvement.

Teams rarely abandon 1st round quarterbacks after two seasons unless they show a complete lack of capability. We're talking about Jamarcus Russell, Josh Rosen, and Cade McNown. Nobody with common sense can say Fields looked anything like those busts. Recently, a stat came out via NFL Network that helped put into perspective how good the Bears quarterback was last year. Across his 15 starts, seven of them came against teams that eventually made the playoffs.

Here are his passing stats against them.

In other words, Fields played his best football every time he went against the best teams in the league. He also rushed for 471 yards and two touchdowns in those games. Last but not least? Four of those opponents had top 10 defenses.

Justin Fields showed what every great quarterback needs.

He was able to elevate his game against top opponents. Name the last Bears quarterback that was able to do that. Not Mitch Trubisky. Not Rex Grossman. Only Jay Cutler has an argument, and even he seemed to struggle in too many of those contests. Yes, the stats weren't prolific. Fields wasn't throwing for 300 yards and three touchdowns. Yet the efficiency and the ability to keep his team in the game were impressive in themselves. There is a strong probability most of those contests would've been blowouts without him.

It is okay to remain skeptical about where Justin Fields is as a passer. He has a long way to go before people call him a top-tier quarterback. That said, he has done more than enough to justify more time. The Bears asked for signs of improvement. He gave them that. All he asks in return is more help. Poles can provide that with free agency and the NFL draft around the corner. If things don't improve in 2024, the organization can start considering alternatives. Abandoning ship right when things are starting to turn feels irresponsible.