Former NFL QB Takes Back Much-Maligned Justin Fields Comments

Chris Simms Justin Fields

Getty Justin Fields has made Chris Simms admit he was wrong.

Chris Simms didn’t have a ton of confidence in Chicago Bears rookie quarterback Justin Fields coming out of the 2021 NFL draft. Simms, who played QB for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Denver Broncos over his seven years in the league, now serves as an analyst for NBC Sports, and he infamously had Fields ranked below the likes of Kellen Mond in his QB rankings comings out of the draft.

“The arm is big time from a power standpoint, but from a consistency, a variety of throws, from needing space into the pocket and a lack of different angles throwing the football, yeah, those things need work in my opinion,” Simms said about Fields back in May, via NBC Sports.

“Especially some of the mechanical issues. There are just too many throws that are missed that should be slam dunk NFL completions that I saw that were incomplete, or complete and the guy had to fall down, or the guy never even got a hand on it. Those are the things that worry me.”

Six weeks into the NFL season, and Simms has already changed his tune.

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Simms: I Was Wrong About Justin Fields

In the October 19 episode of Chris Simms Unbuttoned, the former QB and current analyst said that after seeing how Fields looks so far this season, he has far fewer concerns about the young signal-caller than he did shortly after the draft this year.

“I’m already feeling as far as all the quarterbacks in my rankings that I’m the most wrong about him,” Simms said about Fields.

Simms ranked Fields below Kellen Mond and Trey Lance in his rookie QB rankings, and he also put him as the 39th ranked quarterback overall in the NFL, behind Mond, Lance — and Andy Dalton. Simms also had Fields falling to No. 32 on his mock draft this year. At the time, he was bashed for it:

Now, six months later, Simms has changed his tune. “He very rarely loses control of the football,” Simms added. The former QB then compared Fields to Lance.

“To me, he’s light years ahead of Trey Lance right now,” Simms said. “He’s not as raw. He knows how to play the position a little bit more rather than just being a great athlete who plays the position. And that’s what I like from him and of course he knows how to handle himself and do everything else the right way, too.”

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Simms: Fields is ‘Light Years’ Ahead of Trey Lance

Fields has made some rookie mistakes so far, but he has also shown the ability to learn and grow, and he already has an aggressiveness his predecessor, Mitch Trubisky, lacked.

In Chicago’s recent 24-14 loss to the Green Bay Packers, Fields saw both defensive tackle Kenny Clark and end Kingsley Keke jump offside, so he went for what he thought was a free play:

It turned into an interception when the referees neglected to throw the flag, but Simms saw potential in Fields against the Packers. “He got a little screwed over on one of the interceptions,” Simms said about the offsides no-call. “From what I saw, I didn’t see like, egregiously missed throws or bad decisions for the most part.”

For his part, Fields also seems to be a fast learner.

“I think that’s one thing I took away from last week is just, like I said before, the drives that you have to put together to consistently score, you have to put together a lot of plays on a good drive to score,” Fields said on October 20 about the loss to Green Bay.

“It just can’t be two, three good plays on a drive. You have to put together consistently positive plays to get down the field and at least get points. That’s one thing I caught last game and really just I learned from last game is just, if it’s a bad play, don’t make it worse. Sometimes of course I’m gonna try to extend plays but if it’s not there, you get rid of the ball and move on to the next play.”

Not even midway through the regular season, and Fields is already turning his doubters into believers. If he continues to improve and progress, the sky could be the limit.

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