A busy offseason will end soon for Justin Fields. And he can’t wait.
“It’s a very exciting time, just because of the new pieces we have on our team,” the Bears quarterback said Tuesday at the football camp he hosted at Deerfield High School. “Really, OTAs made it more exciting. Just the culture we put in place last year and all the guys — I think we’re all just trying to reach the same goal, and that’s to win the Super Bowl.”
Fields hasn’t slowed much since the Bears’ offseason program ended with veteran minicamp on June 15. The next day, he flew to Paris to participate in the QB Takeover Football Camp. On July 3, he worked out at Maine South in Park Ridge with teammates Darnell Mooney, DJ Moore and Cole Kmet in the morning, then was the grand marshal and starter for the NASCAR Grant Park 220 Chicago Street Race downtown.
Last weekend, while training in Miami, he held a workout with Mooney, Moore, Kmet and other teammates, including wide receivers Chase Claypool, Equanimeous St. Brown, Tyler Scott, Nsimba Webster and Daurice Fountain and quarterbacks P.J. Walker and Nathan Peterman.
And on Tuesday, a week before he reports for training camp at Halas Hall, Fields was in his element at his second annual Justin Fields Youth Football Camp, which drew 520 campers (at $350 per person) — another indication of the draw Fields has become and the excitement many inside and outside of Halas Hall are feeling about his potential in his third NFL season.
No doubt, Fields is stoked to start camp after an active offseason in which the Bears not only added offensive support in Moore, rookie tackle Darnell Wright, running back D’Onta Foreman, tight end Robert Tonyan and Scott, but also linebackers Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards, cornerback Tyrique Stevenson and defensive tackles Gervon Dexter and Zacch Pickens.
After a 3-14 season, there’s reason for optimism at Halas Hall.
“There’s so many reasons — I don’t think there’s just one particular reason,” Fields said when asked what he’s most excited about. “We have a bunch of new pieces on defense. The leaders we have. Just the camaraderie with everyone on the team — I think that’s the biggest thing. We try to have closeness with each other and grow every day.
“The leaders that we have, like Tremaine, T.J. — of course, DJ on offense and D’Onta at running back. We have a lot of new pieces, and everyone’s excited. We’re all here to push each other to get better. It’s gonna be a fun season.”
Fields confirmed what social media snippets have indicated — that receivers Moore and Claypool are good to go for the start of camp. Mooney didn’t participate in on-field practices in the offseason program while recovering from surgery to repair a broken ankle. Claypool didn’t participate in the final three weeks of the offseason program because of a soft-tissue injury.
“[Mooney’s] ready to go,” Fields said. “One thing about Mooney: He’s one of the hardest workers I know. When he wasn’t [healthy], he’s working, and he’s not gonna come back out of shape. That’s one thing he prides himself on is not being tired.”
Mooney certainly looks ready to go, with the noticeably chiseled torso of a body-builder. He’s still listed at 5-11, 173 pounds. His weigh-in will be interesting.
“We made a few jokes, saying that the NFL’s gonna drug-test him soon because it looks like he’s been on a few steroids,” Fields said with a smile. “He’s been working hard, trying to get back right. We always joked with him last year on how skinny he was. So he’s definitely put on some weight and ready to go. I’m excited to see his comeback, and I know he’s gonna come back better than he was.”
