The Chicago Bears are staying tight-lipped about the full extent of Justin Fields’ injury to his non-throwing shoulder until their first injury report for Week 12 comes out later this week, but head coach Matt Eberflus says he cannot rule out the possibility of a season-ending injury for their starting quarterback.
Eberflus was asked extensively about the shoulder injury that Fields sustained on the final drive of the Bears’ 27-24 loss to the Falcons during his Monday press conference and said the second-year quarterback is considered “day-to-day” to begin Week 12.
For the most part, Eberflus declined to share specifics about the situation with Fields until after the first injury report for the week is released on Wednesday; however, when he was specifically asked whether the injury could shut down the 2021 first-round pick for the remainder of the 2022 season, he could not say the option was off the table.
“We have not ruled that out at this point,” Eberflus said on November 21. “We’ll see where it’s at Wednesday.”
Fields was injured on a first-down run play with 1:47 left that ended with him getting hit and landing on his left shoulder out of bounds. While he remained in the game — and even ran again on second down — he was clearly in visible pain and grabbing at his shoulder until he threw an interception on third down. The Bears also carted Fields away from the locker room for further evaluation after the game ended.
If Fields is unable to play this week against the New York Jets, Trevor Siemian would be in line to start for the Bears at quarterback.
NFL Insider Says Fields Suffered ‘Shoulder Dislocation’
Unsurprisingly, the Bears are reluctant to discuss Fields’ injury while they are still gathering information and preparing for the matchup with the Jets this week, but the well-sourced insiders are still finding a way to get us some details about the situation.
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, a source told him that Fields “suffered a left shoulder dislocation” at the end of the loss to the Falcons, which wouldn’t necessarily mean the end of Fields’ season. That said, the Bears have long-term factors to consider with their playoff hopes dead in the water at 3-8 and Fields looking like a future star.
“#Bears QB Justin Fields suffered a left shoulder dislocation, sources say, a painful injury he somehow played through on Sunday. Coach Matt Eberflus described Fields as ‘day-to-day.’ His status for this Sunday is still to be determined,” Rapoport tweeted Monday.
Rapoport also added: “This explains why #Bears coach Matt Eberflus described Justin Fields as day-to-day, but also did not [rule out] a season-ending situation as [a] worst case. Plenty of outcomes.”
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Bears Send Concerning Message on Justin Fields’ Injury