Bears Equipped for QB Emergencies

Bears 2023 Training Camp Preview: PJ Walker gives Chicago a fighting chance if something happened to Justin Fields.

In two seasons, the Bears have had Justin Fields installed as starter for 30 games.

Since Fields became the official starter for Week 5 against the Raiders in 2021, seven Bears games have been played when Fields was unavailable due to injury or illness. It's a situation teams with running quarterbacks can expect. Ask the Baltimore Ravens or Arizona Cardinals.

Playing games without Fields hardly seems like something Bears fans would want to contemplate, especially when there is so much anticipation for what he could accomplish now with a better supporting cast and experience in this offense.

However, the Bears think they are ready for such a problem within reason because they have PJ Walker as the backup.

"He's a vet, he's a pro, he's a guy with a chip on his shoulder," Bears quarterbacks coach Andrew Janocko said. "You want guys that have had to go through some stuff to get where they are.

"And then he's been around different systems. He's been around different guys, so he brings a discussion."

Walker came from humble beginnings as an undrafted quarterback out of Temple, was the practice squad or third QB in Indianpolis at the end of Andrew Luck's career and eventually stood out in the XFL with Houston before winding up in Carolina as a backup and showing he could fill in when needed.

"He's seen good, he's seen bad, he's seen success, he's seen failure, so he understands," Janocko said. Walker has never been a high-percentage passer. He also is unafraid of taking a shot downfield when playing, and that's uncommon trait for backups. They tend to become check-down Charlies and play out of fear of mistakes.

Walker is a bit like Fields in this respect and it's possibly one of the traits they like about him.

Fields' average intended air yards on throws was 9.1 last year and he ranked fifth in the league in this category according to Sportradar. Walker's was a healthy 8.2 in his five starts last year and it was higher when he had fewer throws in 2020 (10.4) and 2021 (9.0). Although Walker's yards per attempt has been a relatively low 6.4, he was at a career high of 6.9 last season when he had by far his most pass attempts.

SI.com writer Gilberto Manzano rated Walker the 10th best backup quarterback in the league because in an emergency there are similarities to Fields.

It's probably a bit of a generous ranking considering Manzano had a seasoned starter like Mitchell Trubisky ranked 15th and backup QBs who also started extensively like Tyrod Taylor (14), Davis Mills (13) and Marcus Mariota (11) below Walker.

"Walker has a career completion percentage of 57.5 in 15 NFL games, but his skill set makes him an ideal backup for versatile quarterbacks such as Justin Fields," Manzano wrote.

Walker has mobility but hasn't really been a runner in his NFL appearances. He has just 50 yards rushing for 18 attempts.

Nothing is ever the same when the backup is on the field replacing the starting QB in the NFL, but the Bears might have a fighting chance with Walker playing rather than many other NFL backups.

The Starter

Justin Fields: No. 1, their 6-foot-3, 228-pound, third-year starter will likely dictate his future as well as the Bears' draft future with this year's performance. Fields needs to cut down the mistakes while getting it into the end zone more. It's fairly simple. They need to see more ability to rally the team for a win when they're down, too. There has been a positive trend toward eliminating interceptions but he had a league-high 16 fumbles last year after fumbling 12 times as a rookie. This needs to end. Getting sacked when he has the ability to escape also has been an issue, although pass blocking figures heavily into the 91 total sacks Fields took in two years. A passer rating of 92.2, 15 TDs to seven INTs, 62.9% completions and 7.1 yards an attempt in his last 11 starts all point Fields climbing in an upward direction. However, he hasn't won a start since they beat New England in October last year and it's the one negative trend he has to eliminate above all others.

Just a few dimes from @justnfields 🔥 pic.twitter.com/uI01ov1Z0P

— NFL (@NFL) July 13, 2023

The Backups

PJ Walker: No. 15, a 5-foot-11, 210-pound passer is officially in his fourth NFL season although his time on the Colts practice squad from 2017-19 doesn't count. At age 28, he has seven NFL starts, a 4-3 record in those games, played in 15 NFL games and is 131 of 228 for 1,461 yards with 57.5% completions. He has five TD passes, three of them last year, and 11 interceptions, three coming last year. Walker's passer rating of 78.0 last year was his career high as were his 6.9 yards per attempt and 2.8% touchdown throws. The Bears appear to be bringing in a backup on the upswing in his NFL trajectory but not one with extensive starting experience like many other league backups.

Nathan Peterman: No. 14, the 6-2, 225-pound third-string QB spent all of last season until Nov. 26 on the practice squad, then was elevated to the 53-man roster for game day until season's end. Eventually he started the season finale after what was labeled as a hip injury for Fields the previous game. Peterman may have won himself a chance at returning in that game as he outperformed former Packers and Lions reserve Tim Boyle in a QB shuttle that was used. He went 14 of 25 for a TD with an interception and 139 yards that game. For his career, Peterman has five starts and one starting win. That was with Buffalo as a rookie in 2017. He has thrown four TD passes with 13 interceptions and has a 39.4 career passer rating while averaging 4.5 yards a pass attempt for 13 games, including the five starts.

Tyson Bagent: No. 17, the 6-3, 217-pound undrafted rookie from Division II Shepherd, who threw for a D-II record 17,034 yards and 159 TDs in five seasons. Bagent rates at best as a long-term project on the practice squad as he tries to pick up the speed of the pro game. He's not an immobile QB but is by no means a scrambler. During OTAs and minicamp he displayed average arm strength but seemed to pick up the offense well enough and had a knack for getting the ball to the open player. In short, he displayed no overwhelming physical trait that gave him an edge in D-II ball. It's going to be a case of working and learning for the rookie.

2023 Bears QB Prospectus

While Fields must step it up to get his fifth-year option picked up next spring, he's also going to need to deal with more and tougher scrutiny. His first two years were tough internally because of the adjustment between systems and coaches. Now he has help and more is expected by everyone from him as a passer. Better receivers and blockers require throws coming out on time rather than with hesitation before he then runs with it late on a play. There's a better way to do it than scramble and he needs to take this route, as offensive coordinator Luke Getsy said. Whether he's able to make that adjustment could determine both his and the Bears' futures. Although they have a capable backup in Walker, counting on any reserve QB in the NFL for long in the event of an injured starter is usually an invitation to disaster. In this case, losing Fields would impact their running game, as well. Part of the reason for the running success they enjoyed last year as the No. 1 rushing attack was both Fields' running and the way defenses overcommitted to stop him, leaving the back fewer tacklers in the box. Without Fields, the offense would face more conventional defensive tactics and whether their ability to compensate seems unlikely. 

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