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The Chicago Bears are shutting down starting quarterback Justin Fields for their regular-season finale against the Minnesota Vikings after an MRI revealed a new injury concern for him coming into the final week of the 2022 season.
Bears head coach Matt Eberflus revealed during his Wednesday press conference with reporters that the team’s medical staff have determined Fields will not be cleared to play in Week 18’s home game against the Vikings due to a new injury with his hip. Instead, Nathan Peterman will be their quarterback for the finale against Minnesota as he prepares to make his first NFL start since 2018.
“Justin Fields came in on Monday morning with a sore hip, which many times happens with players, coming in with soreness they didn’t anticipate,” Eberflus said on January 4. “So we sent him to get an MRI on his hip, and that showed he had a strain in his hip. So he’s not going to be at full speed this week and the medical staff has ruled him out for this week. This is not a long-term injury, just so we all know that.”
While Fields’ shutdown means he won’t have a shot at breaking Lamar Jackson’s single-season NFL record for most rushing yards by a quarterback — he needed just 64 more yards — the decision is a smart one for the long-term picture of the Bears. A healthy Fields will be essential to them taking a step forward in 2023 and putting him at risk for the sake of pride in a meaningless game could have backfired in the worst way.
The Bears (3-13) are also still waiting to see where their final draft position ends up for the 2023 NFL draft. If they lose to the Vikings on Sunday, they will be guaranteed at least one of the top two picks in the draft and could have a chance at the No. 1 overall selection if the Houston Texans manage to beat the Indianapolis Colts on the road.
The Bears are scheduled to host the Vikings at Soldier Field at 1 p.m. Sunday, January 8.
Eberflus, Bears Still Developing Offseason Plan for Fields
The Bears got some important validation about Fields throughout the course of the 2022 season. He proved he can be an electric playmaker with his legs far beyond what he demonstrated in college, evidenced by the fact that he nows sits at No. 2 overall in the history books for most single-season rushing yards by a quarterback (1,143). He has also shown moments of outstanding leadership and mental toughness that are befitting of an NFL franchise quarterback.
That said, Fields is going to have to spend his offseason honing his ability as a passer if he wants to solidify his role as Chicago’s quarterback of the future.
Eberflus said Wednesday that he hasn’t been able to sit down and fully evaluate the whole of Fields’ second season with the Bears — and first with the new coaching staff — but he did say he has seen noticeable improvement from him throughout the year. Once the Vikings game is over and the offseason has officially begun, he wants to go through the next steps with Fields and the rest of his coaching staff to develop an appropriate offseason plan for him to continue developing, but there is no plan that doesn’t involve Fields making efforts to get sharper as a passer.
“I think he did make improvement [in 2022], though,” Eberflus said Wednesday. “You can see where he improved. The scoring offense was really hitting on all cylinders midway or a little bit past that. He had a lot of lineup changes with the receivers and the offensive line and the running back going out and all those things, but that certainly is impactful to the offense, so you have to be able to look that.”
Has David Montgomery Played Final game as a Bear?
Eberflus didn’t mention any other players in specific who would be shut down for the finale against the Vikings, but he did note that second-year running back Khalil Herbert would be their honorary captain for the game. Maybe it would be jumping the gun to assume that means anything for the lineup, but could Herbert’s captaincy suggest that starting running back David Montgomery will be shut down as well?
Montgomery hasn’t been on the injury report lately and seems to be perfectly capable of performing in Chicago’s final game, but there are other factors to consider for both him and the Bears. For the player end of things, Montgomery is about to become an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career and, at this point, does not appear likely to be asked to return for the 2023 season, given how many other needs the Bears need to address before the running back position. If Chicago isn’t his future, he might prefer to let his season thus far speak for itself and preserve his health for free agency.
Just as understandable would be the Bears deciding to put both Herbert, Darrynton Evans and rookie Trestan Ebner to the test against the Vikings in order to capitalize on the final live-game reps they will have for the next eight months. Eberflus and the Bears have spoken highly of Herbert throughout his second NFL season, particularly while he was away from the team and they were missing his playmaking ability. They are already probably sold on his potential as a lead back, but one more outing couldn’t hurt.
The Bears might also want to see if either Evans or Ebner can show them anything special in the final game. They will have to decide whether to tender Evans as a restricted free agent in a few months, but has he proven enough to be worth it? Meanwhile, Ebner will still be on his rookie contract, but he was underwhelming during his limited snaps this year and could definitely stand to have a notable performance.
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Bears Make Final Decision on Justin Fields Playing vs. Vikings