What Justin Fields Thinks About Year 2

Where Bears QB expresses his thoughts on second season and first in the Luke Getsy offense.

Justin Fields paused to eat a sandwich while sitting at his locker, got a hug from teammate David Montgomery and then reflected for media on his second year in Chicago, Year 1 in the Luke Getsy offense.

It was a year that left plenty of room for growth, and ended in a way the Bears quarterback didn't enjoy.

"I grew over the year, got better," Fields said as the Bears cleaned out their lockers at Halas Hall on Monday. "So, that's really my main goal, was just to get better each and every day and improve."

Fields came away from the final week of the season wishing he had the chance to break the NFL rushing record for quarterbacks. Instead, he watched Nathan Peterman and Tim Boyle take snaps in a 29-13 loss.

Ultimately, he admits it meant little because there's too much work to do in order to take the field again.

'Yeah, but it's a rushing record and I'm a quarterback," Fields said. "Of course, it would've been cool to have but I'm not really into records like that.

"If there was one record I'd like to break, of course it'd be a passing record, so we'll see if we can get that done in the near future. Again, (in offseason) just trying to focus on getting better as a player, getting better as a quarterback and getting better as a team."

The End, the Middle and the Beginning

Fields felt he could have played against the Vikings Sunday despite the hip injury the Bears said he suffered against Detroit in Week 17.

"I mean, I was like 80%," he said. "Yeah, probably, I mean, I could’ve but I don’t know if I would've played my best game."

Coach Matt Eberflus had said Fields wouldn't have been able to play even if it was a playoff game, but Fields had a differing opinion.

"I think so," Fields said. "But actually it really wasn't up to me. The trainers, they didn't want me playing. Yeah, I couldn't be out there."

Fields felt his progress within the offense picked up greatly at midseason, and he had a better understanding of what Getsy wanted at that point.

"Just the fact that we were putting up 30-plus points for like four or five weeks, we know what we can do as an offense and what we can accomplish," Fields said. "The fact that this was everybody’s first year in the offense and we were doing that, you know, Luke's first year as an OC, that gives us a lot of hope, a lot of optimism for the future, for sure."

Another reason for optimism involves the first pick of the 2023 draft, along with virtually an unlimited supply of salary cap space, almost $120 million.

"Of course there's a lot of optimism, but like I said, of course, I have to know my team and stuff like that but that's not my job to do that," Fields said. "My job is strictly get better, work on my skills at quarterback and ultimately get my teammates better, so of course I'm going to pay attention to who we get and stuff like that but to be honest I'm just focused on me right now, and everybody else that's on the team and just getting better with those guys, getting better with them."

Fields has confidence in GM Ryan Poles to add players the offense needs to take its next step. It's possible Fields might even have Poles seek out his opinion on some players, as this type of thing was done in the past between quarterbacks and the front office.

"I mean, I know Ryan has a great understanding of what needs to be done around here, what holes we might need to fill and stuff like that," Fields said. "That's not my job to control any of that. Whatever he needs me to do in terms of recruiting, I'm sure we're going to have that conversation here in a bit.

"So, whatever he's going to do, I fully trust him. His goal is to make the best team he can for us."

The other reason for Fields' optimism is the relationship he developed with Getsy and quarterbacks coach Andrew Janocko over his second season.

"A great relationship," Fields said. "Luke's a down-to-Earth guy, probably one of the realest coaches I've been around. He'll tell you straight up. Just the kind of person he is, he's genuine, he's smart too, so I just love being around and just kind of see his soul and see how pure it is and how pure his heart is."

Both Getsy and Janocko have been entirely supportive of Fields in his attempt to improve passing mechanics.

"Yeah, we have full trust in each and know we can be honest with each other, straight up," Fields said. "That's what I love about him, that's what I love about Janocks. They're real. I'll tell them what it is, they're not gonna judge you. You can be open and honest."

Meaningful Moments

It was Janocko last week who said Fields wants to "own" the team and the city.

Apparently he's taking it from Aaron Rodgers.

"I feel like it’s already mine," Fields said. "The guys in here, they know how hard I work. They know what I want to accomplish and just my mindset overall.

"Really just trying to get guys on the same page, that mindset that culture to where no matter what we go through nothing can phase us, having that swagger, having that confidence going into every game like they have to play us, they have to beat us. So just have that mindset going into every game, we'll be fine."

If Fields has to take one moment from the season, it's the opener. It was the game in the rain, the one NFL Network uses over and over again as Fields and offensive teammates slid face-first in the pools of water in the north end zone of Soldier Field.

"New regime, new GM, new head coach, new team," Fields said. "I think that was a pretty memorable moment for everybody. Especially the setting of that game felt like we were in a movie, so I would say San Fran, that was a great moment of the year."

He'll try to make more meaningful moments in the future.

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven