The Bears entered the season needing to see whether Justin Fields could be their franchise quarterback. When he dislocated his right thumb Sunday against the Vikings, time might have run out.
The injury presents two paths moving forward for Fields, and both are challenging: Either he sits out for weeks or returns and plays hurt.
Any start missed is one less opportunity between now and the end of the season — when the Bears will hold two high draft picks and, increasingly, a chance to draft a top-tier passer — to change the trajectory of Fields’ disappointing season. He hasn’t done nearly enough this season to prove himself to be a bankable Bears star.
A hampered Fields, though, would offer no true reflection of what he could do. Every wild throw would make one wonder whether his thumb was affecting his accuracy; every missed opportunity to run would cast doubt on his ability to take a hit while carrying the ball in his right hand.
Fields wore a small removable purple brace on his right hand Wednesday but did not practice. He’ll sit all week, at least; the Bears signed quarterback Trace McSorley to run the practice squad. Undrafted rookie Tyson Bagent will start Sunday against the Raiders.
There are 12 weeks left in the season. By the time Fields is fully healed, it might be too late.
The Bears have lived this before. Through the first nine games of 2018, Mitch Trubisky had rushed for 302 yards, the second-most of any quarterback in the NFL, on 38 carries. He seemed a natural fit in new coach Matt Nagy’s offense.
In Week 10, though, Trubisky scrambled against the Vikings, slid and was hit late by safety Harrison Smith. He landed on his left shoulder, which the Bears called bruised. He missed two games but was never the same runner again. After averaging 7.9 yards per carry through the first nine weeks of 2018, he averaged 4.6 the rest of his Bears career. The team focused on developing him into a consistent drop-back passer, with little success.
What if Fields returns but isn’t the same?
Thumb dislocations are accompanied by tears in the ligaments surrounding the thumb. Those can be fixed via surgery or heal on their own. Coach Matt Eberflus said the Bears will monitor Fields throughout the week and make a decision about whether he’ll need surgery.
“It still comes down to the grip strength,” Eberflus said.
Fields couldn’t grip a ball Sunday after getting hurt.
If the Bears put Fields on injured reserve, he’d have to miss at least the next four games.
“Other people that have had this injury, it’s gone that way, where they’ve taped it and gone through it and they’ve played, and it’s been a week-to-week thing,” Eberflus said. “And then all the way to having surgery and them being out.
“We don’t know where it is yet. We’ll figure it out later in the week.”
On Wednesday, Fields’ teammates described him in good spirits.
“We was joking around,” receiver DJ Moore said. “He’s still upbeat. Looking forward to him getting back. I know he wants to be back. But for right now, we got to go with Tyson, and he knows that. And by the looks of it, he has been in a great mood and helping Tyson.”
Fields even teased teammates during meetings.
“We’re still having fun,” guard Teven Jenkins said. “You can see his desire to be out there. That’s just him as a competitor.”
Taping up his thumb and playing, if possible, would be counterproductive — but better than the alternative.
Neither outcome, though, would be satisfying.
