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Justin Fields has made at least one significant change to his game this offseason.
The Chicago Bears quarterback met with the media on April 19, the first day of the team’s voluntary three-day mini camp, and discussed a number of things, including what he has been working on this offseason.
The 23-year-old signal-caller referred to his rookie campaign as a series of “ups and downs,” and noted he feels far more confident and capable heading into Year 2.
“Last year was my rookie year, of course, my first in the league, I didn’t know if I was going to start or not, didn’t know if I was going to play, so my mindset right now is completely different than last year,” the young QB noted. “I’m just excited to get started.”
He also revealed a major mechanical adjustment he has made to better fit into new offensive coordinator Luke Getsy’s offensive scheme.
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Fields Says He Made Significant Change to Footwork
One of the first things Fields told reporters about was a change he has made with his footwork on drop backs.
“One big thing was changing my drop,” he noted. “Last year in the gun, I had my right foot forward, so I’ve been working a lot on having my left foot forward in the gun.”
When asked what prompted this specific change, Fields was matter of fact, noting the adjustment will help him get the ball out faster. “It’s just what they do in their offense,” he said. “It times it better with the routes and stuff like that so that’s why we do it.”
The young QB also was asked what kind of plays he’d like to see, and he was honest without getting too specific: “I would hope they tailor plays to my skill set.”
Fields had 420 yards rushing in 12 games last year, which ranked fifth among all NFL QBs. Had he played a full season, that number would have likely been much higher. Considering the former coaching staff called just 27 designed runs for Fields in 256 snaps, per PFF, while also calling few rollouts and bootlegs to utilize his mobility, there’s a reason Fields is hoping to see a better game plan suited to his strengths in 2022.
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Fields Also Working on His Speed, Avoiding Sacks
Fields was sacked 36 times last year, and while many of those were due to poor offensive line play, several were the result of a young QB holding onto the ball a tad too long. Fields is working to fix that.
“There’s stuff in the film last year where you could see that, of course, there were some instances where it was my fault that I got sacked,” Fields said. “At the end of the day it just comes to limiting those mistakes and getting the ball out and not taking those sacks.”
Fields also noted he has “probably lost like four pounds” this offseason in an attempt to get faster. The second-year quarterback has also been spending extra time this offseason throwing to tight end Cole Kmet and wideout Darnell Mooney, so he’s doing everything right. We’ll have to wait and see if it all comes together on the field.
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