Justin Fields Right Where Bears Expected

GM Ryan Pace says Justin Fields is right where the Bears expected he'd be, as they try to train him rather than fling him into the NFL fray on opening day.

Ryan Pace had some explaining to do and did it, whether it satisfies Bears fans or not.

On the  third anniversary of his best move until quarterback Justin Fields becomes a successful starter—the trade for Khalil Mack—the Bears GM on Wednesday addressed how he could have drafted a tackle with a back problem, signed a 39-year-old replacement and drafted wide receivers who failed to stick with the team.  Above all else, he addressed why Fields is the backup quarterback. 

It's all about that quarterback, Justin Fields, maybe even more so than it is their fast-approaching Sept. 12 season opener against the Los Angeles Rams.

Pace said the decision by the team to keep Fields benched for now with Andy Dalton playing is not about the rookie. It's because they don't feel pressured to play Fields with Dalton available.

"I just feel we're just in a good position with Andy," Pace said. "It starts with how we feel about Andy. And we're very confident in him and where he's at. So there's no need for us to rush Justin."

The idea is to break in Fields, not break him.

"You guys know, especially playing quarterback in the NFL, there's so much that goes into that and so much different than you'd even see in the preseason," Pace said. "The weekly preparation, seeing NFL defenses in the regular season, and all those things. I just think the more time he has to learn that and observe that, the better off for him."

Right Where They Expected

This isn't a reflection on Fields even if Pace said the rookie is not ahead of where they had hoped.

"You know, honestly, he's really not," Pace said. "For us to move up and take him where we did, you know how we feel about him. I think he's exactly what we thought he was gonna be. He's exactly what we hoped he would be. And I don't think it changes our plan at all. I know the fans are excited and we're excited, too."

The skills have stood out in person as on film.

"We obviously knew about the arm talent, the athleticism, the work ethic, all of those things," Pace said. "But when you get him out there in an NFL environment, he stays calm in the moment. I think his heart rate stays low, he processes fast. He goes through progressions. 

"I think you feel like you see a lot of young quarterbacks who kind of stare down an intended target—you see him working through his progressions, which I think is really good to see from a young quarterback." 

If there was anyone who would want to see Fields play, it's probably Pace because he made the trade up for Fields and he has the lasting memory of the trade up for Mitchell Trubisky dogging him.

"We're excited about Justin," Pace said. "I'm more excited than anybody. But we're just going to let this thing play out."

Tackling a Tough Issue

Second-round rookie Teven Jenkins had back surgery and Pace defended the decision to draft him even with the history from Oklahoma State with a lumbar problem.

"So we knew everything about his back coming out along with ... everybody knew," Pace said. "We were strict with our medical through all of that. The symptoms that he had was totally different than he ever experienced before. There were new symptoms."

The Bears have maintained this is a new injury and Pace didn't want to get specific about the symptoms but did anyway.

"Without getting into details, he started having some pain down his leg, I think just from the nerve," Pace said. "And so when you have the surgery, it can alleviate that symptom and in fact it already has. He's in a really good place right now. Now it's just positive steps going forward."

Pace said the goal is to have Jenkins back on the active roster and playing at some point this season. He starts the year on injured reserve and players can return after three weeks. Obviously, this will take longer than three weeks.

"And the good thing is, guys, just because he had back surgery doesn't mean he's not going to have a good NFL career," Pace said. "We're excited about the player, excited about where he's heading. Now, we feel like we fixed the problem."

In the 2020 NFL draft the Bears had no 1st, 3rd or 4th round picks.

Ryan Pace still managed to find 4 (maybe 5) starters. Incredible. pic.twitter.com/sy6g5YdiCb

— Max Markham (@MaxMarkhamNFL) September 1, 2021

Hey Old Guy

The other way Pace believes they fixed the problems is with 39-year-old tackle Jason Peters. It seems a bit of a reach to expect a player this old to be a starter and do it with a new team on only a few weeks of training camp preparation. He'll be lining up against the Rams, though.

"It's exciting. It is," Pace said. "He's working back into football shape. He knows that, so we're being smart with that. 

"But if you just watch his foot quickness and how he moves, his technique, his experience, he's just a savvy vet that's still moving very well. I think that's a credit to the athlete he is and just keeping himself in good shape."

I will take Ryan Pace over Phil Emery any day. The worst Bears GM ever. Period.

— Oscar Chapa Saenz II 🐻⬇️💯🇨🇱 (@chibigo72) September 1, 2021

Pace added that rookie Larry Borom is a viable left tackle, even if he has played that position only one game since high school.

The offensive line as a whole looks like the weakest link of the team based on training camp, but they're banking on line coach Juan Castillo's ability to turn things around quickly.

"Juan, to me, is maybe the best developer of talent in the NFL at his position," Pace said. "It's awesome. So we put the mid-round picks and the late round picks in there that've gotten a lot better because they've been forced to play a lot. So I think that's going to pay dividends. 

"With what we've done right now, Jason Peters, I think we were fortunate there, to be honest. But to see how far Larry Borom's coming. We've got Germain Ifedi back (from hip flexor problems). Pig Simmons. Elijah Wilkinson, Alex Bars is versatile on the inside."

Receiver Draft Debacle

Pace has drafted seven wide receivers since he came in 2015 and the only one left with the team still is 2020 fifth-rounder Darnell Mooney. They'll be starting free agent Allen Robinson, leaning on free agents Marquise Goodwin and Damiere Byrd and on Wednesday signed Breshad Perriman while bringing in returner/receiver Nsimba Webster.

"I look at that (receiver) room and I'm excited about that room," Pace said. "They've all got there from a variety of ways, and for us when it comes to the draft picks, we're just going to keep the best players, no matter what it is."

He said this is a lesson he learned in New Orleans from Mickey Loomis and Sean Payton.

"For us, they all came here different ways too," Pace said, although his all seem to come in Chicago through free agency except Mooney. "A-Rob was a big UFA signing for us. Mooney was a mid-round pick for us, Goodwin, the way we acquired him this offseason, there's a lot of buzz on him right now. So they all got here a variety of ways. We're excited about it. We're excited about the versatility in that room. We're really excited about the speed we've added to that room, there's a lot of explosiveness."

Pace pointed out both Webster and Perriman are known for their speed.

"Nsimba (Webster) you saw we added today, is not only a good returner, but also a really good full core special team player," Pace said. "He's a really good gunner, he's really good on kickoff coverage."

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