Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields has been sidelined for the past three games due to a dislocated thumb he suffered back in Week 6.
The good news is that Fields seems to be making significant progress, and Bears head coach Matt Eberflus provided an update on his signal-caller’s status after his team’s Week 9 loss to the New Orleans Saints.
“He’s day-to-day. We’ll find out more [on Monday], and we’ll see where it is,” Eberflus told reporters, via the Bears’ official YouTube account. “He’s started throwing, which is a positive, and we’ll see where it is in terms of his functionality.”
Fields returned to practice late last week, so he could be returning sooner than many anticipated.
However, Chicago will have a short turnaround this week, as it will take on the Carolina Panthers on Thursday night. That makes it less likely that Fields will be back on the field for Week 10, but Eberflus also did not rule out the possibility.
“We’ll see where he is,” Eberflus said when asked if Fields could be back against the Panthers.
Fields has thrown for 1,201 yards, 11 touchdowns and six interceptions while completing 61.7 percent of his passes and posting a passer rating of 91.6 in six games this season. He has also rushed for 237 yards and a score while averaging five yards per carry.
The 24-year-old began showing signs of busting out in Weeks 4 and 5, totaling eight touchdowns and just one pick over those two games after struggling mightily over the first three games of the year. However, the thumb injury he sustained in the Bears’ Week 6 loss to the Minnesota Vikings unfortunately halted his progress.
Since being taken with the 11th overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft, Field has gone just 6-25 as a starter, prompting many to state that Chicago should look elsewhere for a quarterback. But Justin Fields’ short stint of success prior to getting injured has some wondering if he could, in fact, be the Bears’ signal-caller of the future.
Chicago is 2-7 on the year.
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