Bears HC provides injury update on Justin Fields

"There's no timetable right now," Eberflus said according to ESPN writer Courtney Cronin. 

"It's really going to come down to grip strength and the natural swelling that occurs with this injury, so we should know more at the end of this week."

Sitting at 1-5 following their loss to Minnesota, Chicago brass may feel the Fields injury is a blessing in disguise. After taking over as the full-time starter for the Bears in 2021, Fields is just 6-25 in 31 career starts. In 2022 he went 3-12, with the Bears finishing with the worst record in the NFL. 

Rather than choose one of the top quarterbacks in the 2023 draft, Chicago decided to roll one more year with Fields and traded the first overall pick to Carolina for D.J. Moore. 

2023 hasn't gone according to plan for either Chicago or Carolina, but that could end up benefiting the Bears big time in the near future. 

As things currently stand, Chicago would own both of the first two picks in the 2024 NFL Draft with apparently generational quarterback prospects in USC's Caleb Williams and UNC's Drake Maye. Not only would they have their pick of the two, but they'd be in the enviable position of being able to select another elite prospect at a position of need, or flipping the second pick to acquire a top-end weapon or protector for their new franchise quarterback. 

Before his injury against the Vikings, it seemed as if Fields may be starting to figure things out. 

In games against the Broncos and Commanders, he threw a combined eight touchdowns to just a single interception to go with 617 passing yards. If Fields continued to play at this level it would certainly result in a few wins, jeopardizing Chicago's chances at what could turn into an all-time draft haul.

If the Bears have decided internally that the time has come to move on from Fields, this injury could be a key moment in a season that has turned from hopes of contending for an NFC North title to yet another tank campaign.