Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields has missed the last couple of weeks with a dislocated thumb, and sports medicine physician Jesse Morse provided some extra information on the issue this week.
Morse says that Fields most likely suffered a dislocation of the metacarpophalangeal joint, which means that he likely tore at least one ligament at the volar plate.
Morse adds that the injury is on Fields’ throwing hand, so the best course of action would be for him to hit the injured reserve list and get the thumb surgically repaired. That would put Fields’ return timeline at about 4-6 weeks depending on his gripping ability.
He also says that if Fields does return, he would probably have some issues throwing the ball downfield early on, which would mean he would be running the football more (something he wasn’t doing a whole lot of before getting injured in Week 6).
While conventional knowledge may say that Fields should just sit out the rest of the season in order to fully recover, the Bears probably want to see more of him in 2023 before they decide what they want to do under center going forward.
Prior to getting injured, Fields had 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 this season. He appeared to be breaking through in Weeks 4 and 5 when he totaled eight touchdown passes and just one pick, but a wrench was thrown into things when he went down in Week 6.
The 24-year-old, who played his collegiate football at Ohio State, was selected by Chicago with the 11th overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft.
Since entering the NFL, Fields has gone just 6-25 as a starter, which has led to many saying that the Bears should look for a new quarterback. However, Justin Fields flashed considerable talent for a couple of games this season, so it remains to be seen how Chicago handles this situation.
The Bears are 2-6 and will take on the New Orleans Saints this Sunday.
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