This season will prove to be a fatalistic season for the Chicago Bears and Justin Fields, according to one former NFL quarterback
“I think it’s a step back, frankly,” NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky said on the 25 Whistles podcast with Bobby Bones. “I don’t think it’s a year for Justin Fields and his development. They have the worst situation for a quarterback in the NFL.”
The team undoubtedly has one of the worst rosters in the NFL. After general manager Ryan Poles stripped the team of Khalil Mack and let Allen Robinson, Eddie Goldman and Akiem Hicks walk in free agency, the team was left to dry.
As part of an overarching rebuild, the team is down to fringe-roster veterans on minimum contracts. In light of this, the focus of the season is surrounded by the few players who will likely be around for the long haul.
Justin Fields is certainly thought of as one of those players.
But, for Orlovsky, he sees this season going poorly for Fields. Without any support from the offensive line nor the wide receiver group, he sees no way for Fields to develop and be successful.
“They have one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL in probably the last 10 years,” Orlovsky said. “Their number one receiver is a fifth-round pick — Darnell Mooney. Good player, but he’s not a number one in the NFL right now. I think it’s gonna be a really difficult year for Justin [Fields] and my hope and prayer is that no one judges him until 2023 when they’re a little more supportive around him.”
As Orlovsky pointed out, the Bears are not set up for success.
The rebuild has been focused primarily on the defense so far. The organization hired a defensive-minded head coach with a reliable resume for supporting that side of the football.
Even though Poles is a former offensive lineman, the organization looked to defense in their first NFL draft. They took highly-touted college prospects Jaquan Brisker and Kyler Gordon to set the stage for a long-term defense.
They did take a few offensive lineman at the end of the draft, highlighted by Braxton Jones, who could compete for a starting spot at tackle. Nevertheless, the team is bridging the gap until the next offseason when they will inevitably fix the offensive line issue with long term solutions.
For now, the team signed veteran offensive linemen Riley Reiff and Michael Schofield to one-year deals to support Fields through a developmental period.
But, that’s not good enough for Orlovsky this season.
“My biggest issue and fear, often, is taking these young players at that position [quarterback] and putting them into the role where you expect development and winning,” Orlovsky said. “That’s so hard to happen at the same time.”
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