The Chicago Bears were a playoff team in 2020, but the squad has been rebuilding ever since then. The team was supposed to take a big step forward in 2023. Their young players have gained experience and the Bears added a top-flight receiver this offseason in DJ Moore.
That step forward hasn’t happened. In fact, they may have even taken a step back. Despite playing in a weaker-than-usual NFC North, the Bears are 3-7 through 10 games. Only one of those wins came with Justin Fields at the helm, with the other two coming courtesy of Mr. D-II, Tyson Bagent.
There are calls from some in the media for the Bears to continue to start game-manager Bagent instead of Fields going forward, but that would not be the right choice for his Bears team. There are a couple of reasons why Fields is the right way to go, as well as some outside narratives that are contributing to the idea that Bagent is the answer under center.
A tale of two quarterbacks
Fields has always been headed for stardom. He was a five-star high school prospect ranked first overall by ESPN and second overall by Rivals. Fields initially committed to Georgia but later transferred to Ohio State, where he faced top-flight competition almost every week.
Drafted 11th overall by the Bears in 2021, the quarterback features a dizzying array of skills. At the draft combine, the 6’3″, 227-lb Fields blazed a 4.46 40-yard dash. The quarterback also has a dynamic throwing arm, capable of making any throw on the football field.
Tyson Bagent comes from a very different place than Fields. He was a great player at Martinsburg High School, being named Gatorade’s West Virginia Player of the Year in 2017. Despite that notoriety, the quarterback wasn’t considered to be a major college recruit. In fact, he committed to playing his college ball at Shepherd University, a Division II school.
Bagent dominated at Shepherd, throwing 159 touchdown passes in only 53 career games. Still, he wasn’t considered to be a major prospect and went undrafted in 2023. He would sign with the Bears a few days after the draft.
| Tyson Bagent | Combine Results |
|---|---|
| Height | 6’3″ |
| Weight | 213 |
| 40 Yard Dash | 4.79 |
| 20 Yard Shuttle | 4.36 |
The Brock Purdy effect
When Brock Purdy became the starting quarterback for an outstanding San Francisco 49ers team last year, it seemed like he came out of nowhere. Purdy began the year behind both Trey Lance and Jimmy Garroppolo, who both had much higher pedigrees. But in the five regular season games the rookie started, he made it clear that he was the Niners’ best option under center.
Amazingly, the 49ers acquired Purdy with the final selection of the draft, making him 2022’s Mr. Irrelevant. A star at Iowa State University, he was once thought of as a first or second-round prospect. As Purdy went through the draft process, however, teams soured on his athleticism and arm strength. But he’s proven them all wrong in a very short period of time, developing into a very inexpensive franchise quarterback.
Purdy has now created a model for those who want to roll with a game-manager type of quarterback at bargain-basement prices. And he is the example that those calling for Bagent to replace Fields often cite. The QBs, though, couldn’t be more different. Even in the first few games that he played in the NFL, Purdy was already processing at an incredible level.
It’s a level that Bagent hasn’t shown so far. Not to mention the difference in competition they saw in college. It’s also worth noting that Fields has shown a lot more promise and ability than Garoppolo and Lance combined, so the Bagent has a lot more competition for the spot than Purdy did in San Francisco.
What Fields brings to the table
Fields has had to deal with plenty of turnover in his years with the Bears. When he was a rookie, Matt Nagy was his head coach and Bill Lazor was his offensive coordinator. For the past season and a half, Matt Eberflus has been the head coach, and Luke Getsy the OC.
Getsy spoke extensively this offseason about how he would build his offense around the things that Fields does best. It makes sense to talk that way, as that is what the best offensive coordinators do. Fields has indeed been better so far this year. His passer rating is up, as is his completion percentage and TD percentage, and his turnovers are down. While some don’t feel that Fields has improved enough, all QBs develop at their own pace.
| Year | Fields Rushing Yards Per Game |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 35.0 |
| 2022 | 76.2 |
| 2023 | 39.5 |
The fact that a quarterback with Fields’ type of running ability could complete 60% of his passes shows just how much potential there could be. The quarterback is not running as much this year as he did in 2022, and is not doing so as successfully, which would lead one to think that maybe Getsy isn’t really building around Fields’ strengths after all. Still, his 7.1 YPC last season shows just how dangerous he could be when he escapes the pocket.
The Baltimore Ravens brought in Todd Monken to be their offensive coordinator this year. Lamar Jackson is looking as good as he ever has, and the Ravens look like a Super Bowl contender. Fields has similar tools and abilities to Jackson. He just needs the right coach to unlock it.
Door number 3?
Thanks to a trade last season, the Bears are in possession of the Carolina Panthers’ first-round selection this year. That pick is currently slated to be first overall, and the way the Panthers’ rookie QB Bryce Young has looked, it’s not likely to be much lower than that by season’s end.
The Bears’ own first-round pick would be fifth overall. If the Bears were to continue their current trajectory and the Panthers awarded them with the first pick, they would almost certainly draft USC’s Caleb Williams, a special quarterback prospect, and trade Fields.
Still, it might be the best-case scenario for Fields to prove to the Bears that he is the quarterback of the future. The team could then use the two high picks to build around him instead. Fields won’t be able to do so if he is playing behind a lesser QB in Bagent. The former Buckeye is a monster talent who is just scratching the surface of his potential, and if the Bears give up on him too early, he could hit that potential somewhere else.
