Bear Digest

C.J. Stroud Defends Justin Fields

C.J. Stroud says the Bears are Justin Fields' team and he wouldn't want to come in the draft to Chicago.

Gene Chamberlain

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Former Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback C.J. Stroud might not be coming to Chicago but he definitely won the hearts of Bears fans at the NFL combine.

Talking to reporters on Friday when quarterbacks meet the media, he defended his former Buckeyes teammate and friend in a way that had to stir emotions in many of Fields' supporters.

"You have to make plays with your feet and he ain't no damn running back. He's a quarterback and he can sling that rock."

Addressing the thought Fields didn't stand out as a passer last year for the Bears in a 3-14 season, Stroud said:

"Yeah, I was proud of him, man," Stroud said. "There's so many times you get knocked back down, but I feel like a true man's character is when you get knocked down how do you get up? And he's gotten up every time and he stepped up to the plate.

"And he hasn't blamed anybody. He hasn't pointed fingers. As a human, that just shows you what type of man he is and what type of family he comes from. So just knowing him as a person, that's really cool. Because it's hard, man. You get hit so hard, so many times hard in the face."

Stroud saw Fields' being hit as the reason he became known as a runner more than a passer.

"You have to make plays with your feet and he ain't no damn running back," Stroud said. "He's a quarterback and he can sling that rock."

Fields and Stroud remain close and the two were texting each other on Friday. 

Stroud's feelings about Fields caused him to go somewhere no draft pick does by saying he didn't want to go to a particular city, in this case Chicago. It makes little sense for players to say these things because they have no control over where they wind up.

"I don't want to go there," he said of Chicago. "That's his team. I've got to do my thing and I've got to go build my legacy. He texted me yesterday morning. Me and him are brothers for life."

Fields played two seasons as Ohio State starter and Stroud two. Stroud completed 575-of-830 for 8,123 yards with 85 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in two seasons starting for the Buckeyes. 

Fields started three less games due to the pandemic wiping out a chunk of the 2020 season, and went 423 of 618 for 5,701 yards with 67 TDs and nine interceptions.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.

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