Bears quarterback Justin Fields is entering his third season.
Owen Ziliak/Sun-Times
Justin Fields has averaged 2,056 passing yards per season in his first two years.
He wants to double that in 2023, and to become the first Bears player ever to reach 4,000 passing yards in a season. Erik Kramer is the franchise leader, having thrown for 3,838 in 1995. In terms of modern NFL offenses, 28 years ago might as well be a century. An NFL quarterback has thrown for 4,000 or more yards 217 times, and has never done so while wearing the wishbone C.
“A Bears quarterback hasn’t done it yet,” Fields said Tuesday as Bears veterans reported to Halas Hall for training camp. “That would be cool.”
Lofty goals notwithstanding, the Bears would be fine with 3,000 yards if Fields answered the important question of this season: whether he’s their franchise quarterback.
The stakes are high. Fields is eligible for a contract extension next offseason. The Bears have two first-round picks in case they want to draft a quarterback instead.
This is Fields’ prove-it year. His 2022 season was thrilling. He was named NFL Network’s 86th-best player on their top 100 list Tuesday and recently had to rebuff an offer from Netflix to appear in Season 2 of their “Quarterback” documentary. But Fields is not what the Bears need — a complete passer. Or at least not yet.
To get to where the Bears want him to be, Fields needs to bring his passing skills closer to his otherworldly running ability. He doesn’t need to throw for 4,000 yards, but he absolutely must show exponential growth.
“I don’t feel pressure to pass more or anything like that,” Fields said. “I think that’s just naturally going to come with everybody getting more comfortable with the offense and the players around me.”
Fields has better players around him than last season — he said having a set receivers room “changes everything for the offense” — but knows his own growth is essential to fixing the Bears’ passing game.
“You want to see him improve everywhere,” general manager Ryan Poles said. “Obviously, you know what he did with his legs was outstanding, but in the pass game, look at the different scenarios, situations, two-minute [drills], and continue to improve that.”
Poles added receiver DJ Moore, tight end Robert Tonyan and a first-round pick, right tackle Darnell Wright, to help Fields. For his first time as a pro, Fields has the same head coach, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in consecutive seasons.
Poles was asked which element — continuity or change — was more important to helping Fields develop in Year 3.
“When you know what you’re doing, you can play more instinctive, you can play faster, you make decisions faster,” he said. “So I think that’s always big. And then obviously, again, the beautiful thing about this game is you’re relying on everybody else. So the more talent you have around you, you can be successful. So we hope both of those things end up being true.”
Fields does, too.
“I think any time you’re in the same offense two consecutive years, it does make it easier — you’re not having to learn a new offense, new protections, new language within an offense,” he said. “This offseason has definitely been easier for me in terms of diving deeper into the playbook and just a better understanding of it. I’ve definitely felt way more comfortable this offseason in OTAs than I have the past two, for sure.”
The real test is getting closer. Training camp starts Wednesday.
Asked what he expects, Poles made a list.
“Controlling what he can control, looking at himself in the mirror, self assessment, improving those weaknesses,” Poles said. “Really attacking that in training camp every single day.”
