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The Chicago Bears did not have starting quarterback Justin Fields practicing to begin Week 15’s prep for the Philadelphia Eagles, but the team doesn’t seem too concerned about whether he will be ready in time for Sunday’s game.
Bears head coach Matt Eberflus told reporters on Wednesday that Fields was not practicing due to an illness and was considered “day-to-day” as a result; however, he also added that Fields was still in the building and was concentrating on learning the offense’s game plan for the matchup with the Eagles.
“Justin Fields is ill today and will not practice,” Eberflus said on December 14. “He is day-to-day. He is feeling better day-to-day, so we’ll go from there. I’m not going to answer questions about where, when, what, all that other stuff — he’s just day-to-day and we’ll list it as illness for today and we’ll go from there. He’s feeling better every single day.”
Eberflus added, however, that the Bears are anticipating having Fields available for their upcoming game against the Eagles even though they’ll continue to monitor him.
Eagles Defense Present Top-Level Test for Justin Fields
The Bears aren’t going to want to push Fields to play unless he is completely healthy, but a matchup with one of the NFL’s top defenses would certainly be useful for his overall development. Despite two late-game interceptions, Fields played mostly well against the Green Bay Packers in the final game before the bye, completing 80% (20 of 25) of his passes for 254 yards and rushing for another 71 yards and a touchdown.
Now, the Bears have a chance to see how Fields handles himself against a sturdy pass rush and a secondary unit that is allowed a league-low 178.7 passing yards through its first 13 games of the season. They don’t need him to be flawless, but it would be very encouraging for his long-term development if Fields can rise to the occasion and put the Bears in a position to contend with the current No. 1 seed in the NFC.
The Bears (3-10) will host the Eagles (12-1) at Soldier Field at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, December 18.
Chase Claypool Also Out at Practice With Knee Injury
The Bears were also missing three other players at Wednesday’s first practice due to injuries, including wide receiver Chase Claypool (knee). Claypool injured his knee midway through the loss to the Packers, but he returned to the game with a knee brace and was fine to finish things out. Eberflus also said after the game that Claypool was “squared away” regarding his injury, so his absence from practice may be precautionary.
Second-year offensive tackle Larry Borom (knee) also missed his fourth consecutive practice; although, the Bears are more likely to go with either veteran Riley Reiff or former first-round pick Alex Leatherwood as their starting right tackle even once he is cleared to play again. The only other Bears player who did not participate in practice on Wednesday was tight end Trevon Wesco, who is dealing with a calf injury.
Jaquan Brisker (concussion), Kyler Gordon (concussion), N’Keal Harry (back) and Kindle Vildor (ankle) all returned to practice as full participants to start the week.
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