The Chicago Bears currently have their best quarterback situation in recent memory, having seen signal caller, Caleb Williams, secure them the NFC North title for the first time since 2018, and broken the record for the most single-season passing yards in Bears history – 3,942 – although that number still fell short of the all-important 4,000 yard marker (in one year) that still eludes the historic franchise.
However, it was a former Bears quarterback who made some notable news on Monday, as Super Bowl week finally commences. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, former Chicago QB1, Justin Fields declined a Pro Bowl invite for this season’s Pro Bowl Games, which will be played in the lead up to Super Bowl LX.
“One note before the Pro Bowl Games on Tuesday: Jets QB Justin Fields was asked to participate, I’m told. He declined, focusing on his offseason training.” Rapoport reported on February 2.
Fields spent the 2026 season with the New York Jets – his second landing spot since being traded from the Bears to the Pittsburgh Steelers in spring 2024, ahead of the team’s selection of Williams in that year’s draft.
Fields Declines Pro Bowl To ‘Focus On Offseason Training”
The 2026 Pro Bowl has turned into a bit of comedy scene at the quarterback position in the AFC. The Cincinnati Bengals somehow posted two quarterbacks on the roster after Buffalo’s Josh Allen pulled out due to injury, the Chargers’ Justin Herbert declined to participate and the fact that Patriots‘ Drake Maye will instead be preparing for his showdown against the Seahawks on Sunday.
Both Joe Flacco and Joe Burrow – who started just 14 games for Cincinnati between them in 2025, will represent the AFC. Both have showcased Pro Bowl-level play – and better – in the past, but in a season in which neither QB surpassed 2000 passing yards for the organization, and the team itself went 6-11 – both selections are pretty hard to justify.
Indeed, Cleveland Browns rookie QB, Shedeur Sanders, who started 7 games – going 3-4 in the process – and ended the year with 1,400 passing yards and a poor 68.1 passer rating, posting 7 touchdowns to 10 interceptions, also somehow made it.
Fields With Unsure Future In 2026 After Tough Season
And perhaps Fields’ inclusion is almost as (although certainly not more) egregious. The ex-Bear managed just 1,259 passing yards and 7 passing touchdowns alongside 383 rushing yards in 9 starts this past season, going 2-7 in the process. Although in fairness, whilst Fields was hardly the solution, he certainly was not the problem in a once-more dysfunctional Jets team that ended the year with a 3-14 record.
Many expect New York to make a run at Green Bay Packers backup, Malik Willis, who is considered by many to be the top quarterback on the open market this spring, following in the steps of Aaron Rodgers, who also made the trip from the Midwest to the Big Apple back in 2023.
That would leave Fields without a starting job in 2026, although the Jets don’t have a huge incentive to release the former first round draft pick, given that they would only save $1 million of his otherwise $23 million cap hit by cutting him this offseason, per Spotrac.
Fields did show some good things this past season, but at this point it feels clear that if he does have a future starting in the NFL, it is likely not with the Jets.
Ex-Bears Fan-Favorite QB Declines Pro Bowl Invitation