Getty Bears quarterback Justin Fields is "doubtful" to play against the Panthers on Thursday Night Football in Week 10.
The Chicago Bears will have to wait at least one more week to get quarterback Justin Fields back in their starting lineup.
After Wednesday’s final practice of the week, Bears head coach Matt Eberflus confirmed the team has not “medically cleared” Fields to return to the field and will not have him available for Week 10’s game against the Carolina Panthers on Thursday Night Football.
“He’s progressing every day, [but] he is not medically cleared yet,” Eberflus said during his November 8 press conference. “[Tyson] Bagent will be our starter for this game and [Nathan] Peterman will back him up.”
Strangely, though, Eberflus seemed to contradict himself when talking about Fields’ status on Wednesday. He initially told reporters that Fields would not play against the Panthers, but he also said the team will continue their medical evaluations of him over the next 24 hours and “may” allow him to go through pregame workouts on Thursday.
In other words, while there is a non-zero chance that Fields will be cleared in time to play against the Panthers, the Bears are planning for Bagent to make his fourth start.
One More Evaluation for Tyson Bagent Benefits Bears
From a competitive standout, the Bears are eagerly awaiting the return of Fields, their first-round quarterback, to the helm of their offense. From a long-term roster-building perspective, though, there is value in Bagent getting one last chance to start for them.
Bagent has been uneven, to say the least, over his three starts during Fields’ absence. He won his first career start against the Las Vegas Raiders, completing 21 of his 29 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown in their 30-12 victory.
Since then, though, the undrafted rookie has seen his completion percentage drop in each start — from 72% against Las Vegas to 60% against New Orleans — and thrown five interceptions to just two touchdowns over his most recent two performances. He has also fumbled twice in the last two games, losing the one fumbled in Week 9’s loss.
Now, a four-turnover performance is ugly, but Bagent has also shown promising flashes over the past four weeks. Even if he is unable to bounce back against the Panthers and their fifth-ranked passing defense, the Bears should benefit in the long run from getting one final look at Bagent in the regular season before he moves back to the bench.
Bears Rule Out Tremaine Edmunds, 3 Others for Week 10
The Bears did more than decide the status of Justin Fields on Wednesday. They also shut down four others — including three starters — for Week 10 against the Panthers.
The Bears ruled out middle linebacker Tremaine Edmunds (knee), right guard Nate Davis (ankle), fullback Khari Blasingame (concussion) and rookie cornerback Terell Smith (illness) for Thursday night’s game in their final injury report. It will be the Bears’ second straight game with Edmunds and fourth straight without Davis, who are two of their biggest free agent investments from the 2023 offseason.
Fortunately, not everything is doom and gloom for the Bears in terms of injuries.
Starting tight end Cole Kmet, who did not practice to start the week, finished as a full participant in each of the final two practices and does not have an injury designation against the Panthers. The Bears also cleared rookie cornerback Tyrique Stevenson (ankle) and strong safety Jaquan Brisker (concussion) of their injuries for Thursday.
Additionally, the Bears listed running back Khalil Herbert (ankle), wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown (hamstring) and cornerback Josh Blackwell (hamstring) as questionable. All three players remain on injured reserve, but the Bears opened their 21-day windows to return at the beginning of the week and could activate any of them before their 8:15 p.m. ET kickoff on Thursday.