Getty Quarterback Justin Fields recently got a supportive text from former QB Michael Vick.
Michael Vick knows a thing or two about what it means to be a mobile quarterback, and he has some words of wisdom for Chicago Bears rookie quarterback Justin Fields.
Vick, who is the NFL’s all-time leading rusher at the quarterback position, netting the most career rushing yards (6,109) and the most single-season rushing yards (1,039, back in 2006) by a QB in league history, wants Fields to take off and use his legs more.
In a recent appearance on 670 The Score’s Parkins & Spiegel Show, Vick discussed what he’d like to see from Fields moving forward, and he also revealed the contents of some recent supportive texts he has sent the rookie quarterback.
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Vick: I Want to See Fields Use His Legs More
Fields is coming off his first 100+ yard rushing game of his career, and he has 44 rushes for 243 yards and two touchdowns on the season. Vick wants to see those numbers grow.
“Here’s where my dilemma has been with Justin,” Vick said on the November 4 episode of the Parkins & Spiegel Show. “And what I’ve learned about him over the last four or five months is that he runs a 4.4 40, very mobile. I would like to see him use (his legs) more. He did last week. It helped him. It helps your confidence. Moving the chains always helps your confidence. I want to see him use them more. I want to see him to continue to be mobile and exhaust all options as a quarterback.”
Vick also noted he thinks Fields is going to learn through experience over the next nine games and beyond.
“You have a quarterback who’s a dual-threat,” Vick said about Fields. “In time, he’ll come into his own. He’ll learn his capabilities, and he’ll learn how to play the game … and not thinking too much. It just comes through experience. I think that’s what y’all have in Chicago … The biggest thing that Justin can bring to the table over the next couple years is take a page out of (Lamar Jackson’s) playbook, out of (Kyler Murray’s) playbook and just move the chains. Grow as a passer and move the chains as a runner when you can.”
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Vick Reveals What He Texted Fields After Bears’ Week 8 Loss
Vick also had some advice for the 22-year-old QB about what he should be doing with his time off the field.
“Hopefully what he’s doing is watching a lot of film, not only on himself, but quarterbacks across the league. I used to watch a lot of film on Drew (Brees) and Tom (Brady) and Peyton (Manning), just to try to pick up on things that they were doing,” Vick stated.
The former Atlanta Falcons and Philadelphia Eagles quarterback is on friendly terms with Fields, and he told co-host Danny Parkins and former Bears coach Dave Wannstedt what he recently told Fields via text after the rook balled out in Chicago’s Week 8 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
“I’ve got a good relationship with Justin,” Vick said. “I texted him last week, because I know what it feels like to get beat, and to do it on a national stage … but throughout those losses, there’s a lot of positives that you can take away from it, and I just wanted Justin to feel good even in a loss.”
That’s a great lesson for Fields to learn, particularly this early on. Hopefully, Fields follows his advice.
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Michael Vick Makes Strong Statement on Bears’ QB Justin Fields