It’s clear tight end Jesper Horsted is becoming a favorite of Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields.
The Bears signed Horsted as an undrafted free agent out of Princeton in 2019, and he initially made the practice squad before getting elevated to the active roster for six games that season. He spent the entire 2020 season on Chicago’s PS, and after a standout preseason that saw him catch three touchdowns in the third and final game, he made the 53-man roster again this year. While he has only been active for one game, he was memorable in it, catching a 2-yard TD pass in the Bears’ 20-9 win over the Las Vegas Raiders with a defender all over him:
The TD throw & catch from Justin Fields to Jesper Horsted almost looked fake. Even Raiders #21 Robertson couldn’t believe it.
When Horsted shared images on Instagram of the play which was Fields’ first career TD pass, and Fields commented on the post, writing a strong of an endorsement as a QB can give one of his targets: “Always Open.”
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Horsted & Fields Seem to Be Developing Chemistry on the Field
After the Bears’ Week 5 win over the Raiders, Horsted walked the media through his TD grab from Fields.
“Another good ball from Justin,'” Horsted said October 10. “It was a roll-out to the right and I’m on a corner route there, and I just kind of made eye contact with him as he was scrambling and slowed it down a little bit because the defender has his back to me. Justin just trusted me enough to put the ball up and I made the catch … anything above the shoulders is gonna be where I want the ball because otherwise I have to go over him and like I said, Justin put it right here on the money.”
Fields, who took multiple hard hits while also hyperextending his knee in the game, played through the pain and threw a strike to Horsted in a spot only the TE could snag it.
“When you’re in that moment, you can’t think about what’s hurting,” Fields said about the play. “You just think about executing that play. Of course, Jesper was kind of open in the back of the end zone with the DB had his back turned. So of course, I knew he couldn’t see the ball. So I just threw it up and gave Jesper a chance. Of course he came down with it.”
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Fields on Horsted: You Just Have to Give Him a Chance
When asked about the ball placement on that TD throw, Fields said this: “Just giving him a chance. Just put it where the defender isn’t. Because the defender can’t see the ball so just give my receiver a chance.”
It was just one play, but Fields developed a solid chemistry with Horsted over training camp and the preseason, as he practiced with the second team for months up until being named the starting QB heading into Week 4. Horsted also practiced on the second team, and it’s clear these two players have a great deal of respect for one another.
“He’s a fighter,” Horsted said about Fields. “You saw some of those huge hits. Ideally you want to eliminate those. But it says a lot about your quarterback when he wants to come back and finish the game.”
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Justin Fields Throws Big Hype at Unsung Bears Player