Pro Football Hall Of Fame Writer Was Uncomfortably Blunt On Justin Fields

Several Chicago Bears fans still believe the team made the wrong decision at quarterback. While they may have opted to go with Caleb Williams for financial reasons, they believe Justin Fields was finally reaching a point of improvement as a passer that justified more time. GM Ryan Poles didn’t agree. He acknowledged Fields’ talent and called him a quarterback the Bears could win with. However, he felt Williams could become that quarterback they win because of. This was always the problem with Fields. He never demonstrated an ability to pull the Bears out of the fire himself.

One person who has grown tired of the narrative around Fields is Ryan Michael. He is a writer and statistician for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Some people believe Fields isn’t far off from Jacksonville Jaguars starter Trevor Lawrence. It is merely a case of one ended up in a worse situation than the other. Michael took exception and fired back with stats to prove it isn’t even remotely the case. From his view, both are exactly where they belong. Lawrence is a high-paid starter. Fields is a backup.

After the 2022 season, the #NFLTop100 ranked #TrevorLawrence 96th and Justin Fields 86th.

Lawrence finished 8th in ANY/A.

Fields (dead-last) 33rd.

One, an MVP candidate. The other, arguably the worst starter in pro football.

Lawrence goes on to lead the AFC in Adjusted EPA/P… pic.twitter.com/MmpEGIaY9I

— Ryan Michael (@theryanmichael) July 2, 2024

Lawrence has already exceeded expectations for two consecutive seasons and is the AFC’s reigning leader in Adjusted EPA/P.

Justin Fields is a backup QB — a tough role in and of itself for him as backups are traditionally expected to pick up and run the team’s system.

Fields has… https://t.co/jEc5P1rVnm

— Ryan Michael (@theryanmichael) July 3, 2024

If nothing else, this further validates the Justin Fields decision by Chicago.

Working for the Hall of Fame tells you the guy knows the game inside and out. If you want to go strictly by the numbers, Fields is one of the worst passers in the league. Even if the Bears can get to average on that front, there is every reason to believe they will have a better record this season. Williams doesn’t have to be elite. If he can manage 3,000 yards and 20 touchdowns, that would far surpass anything Fields accomplished in Chicago. Is that harsh? Yeah, but it’s also true.

Statements like these from Michael are important to remember. The Bears moved on from Justin Fields for a reason. It wasn’t because they didn’t like him and wanted their own guy. It was a football decision. They didn’t feel the former 1st round pick had the necessary traits to win them a championship. Period. End of story. The lack of a trade market and his status as a backup in Pittsburgh only reinforces this. Maybe Williams won’t become the messiah the organization hoped for, but the decision to draft him was still the right one.