Initially, there were hopes that Justin Fields might be able to play in New Orleans against the Saints. That didn't come to pass. His thumb injury hadn't progressed enough. No matter. It meant he'd have an extra four days to heal up for the Thursday Night Football contest at home against the Carolina Panthers. However, something didn't feel right throughout the week. Fields was still listed as limited in practice. Head coach was evasive on the topic, listing him as "day-to-day." Though he was throwing in walkthroughs, there were no indications that he was making progress.
People who cover the team all felt it was merely a cautious approach to keep him healthy. They felt Fields would be good to go for the game when the chips were down. They were wrong. Limited in practice again on Wednesday, Fields was declared doubtful for the game. That means Tyson Bagent is in line for his fourth start of the season. It means this could shape up to be a somewhat ugly game between two of the worst teams in the NFL. Not exactly what Amazon and national viewers hoped for.
Justin Fields is running out of time.
Thursday will mark the 11th game over the past three seasons that he has missed with injury problems. Durability is paramount for any player in the NFL, but especially quarterbacks. Fields has taken lots of hits in his career to this point. It doesn't figure to get any better. That aside, the fact is his window to show the current regime he deserves to remain the start is closing fast. If he does return next week against the Detroit Lions, he will only have seven games left to show he has made any progress as a passer.
Things haven't gone as hoped thus far. He hasn't learned to better protect himself and still doesn't protect the ball well enough. His two games against Denver and Washington were excellent, but they appear to be outliers at this point. Coaching hasn't been a big help, but there comes a time when a team must accept that a quarterback isn't progressing as they hoped. Justin Fields hasn't. The Chicago Bears will likely have at least one top-5 pick next season. A change at quarterback feels more and more inevitable.
