The Chicago Bears are under new management, as they fired general manager Ryan Pace and head coach Matt Nagy. They were replaced by Ryan Poles and Matt Eberflus, who are taking over one of the bleaker situations in the league.
The Bears had one of the weaker rosters in the NFL when they took over the jobs and it will take some time to get things back on track. Poles’ spent a majority of the offseason attempting to get the salary cap in order, cleaning up the books for the future.
While that is a necessary step in the process of rebuilding a roster, it doesn’t help some of the players on the team now, mainly quarterback, Justin Fields. Fields was selected in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft by the Bears, who made a trade with the New York Giants, moving up the board to snag the Ohio State signal-caller.
The Bears have been criticized for doing very little to help Fields, who has an underwhelming group of pass catchers to throw the ball to. With Allen Robinson departing in free agency, Darnell Mooney is left as his No. 1 wideout.
While that decision has left some people perplexed, Fields is confident in the guys that he has around him. They don’t have a star at the position, but he doesn’t see that as a problem.
“We don’t have an Odell [Beckham Jr.] or a Cooper Kupp on our team, but at the end of the day I think if everybody is on their P’s and Q’s, and we’re on top of everything and not making mistakes, the players we have right now are good enough,” Fields said, via Scott Polacek of Bleacher Report. “The front office thinks that, too. The fans outside of the facility, they don’t know what’s going on at practice. Just because we don’t have a big-name guy, doesn’t mean those guys aren’t talented. I have plenty of confidence in myself and my teammates that we’re going to get the job done.”
After Mooney, the depth chart includes free agents Bryon Pringle, Equanimeous St. Brown, Tajae Sharp and Dante Pettis. The team also used a third-round pick in Velus Jones, which was considered a reach by many as he will be a 25-year-old rookie.
The Bears will need some of those players to step up and excel in bigger roles than they have held any other time in their career if Fields is to take that next step in his development in 2022. It will not be easy, but at least he is confident in his teammates producing around him even if a lot of people outside of the organization would disagree.
