With the regular season over and his future in Chicago uncertain, Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields spoke with reporters as his third year in the league came to a close and questions on if he will remain the Bears starter in the future began to surface.
“That decision is not in my hands,” Fields said, according to ESPN’s Courtney Cronin. “All I can control is what I did do. I gave it my all. Whether it’s here or not, I have no regrets.”
“To the city of Chicago, love y’all,” he said. “Appreciate the fans and the support from all the Bears, you know, and in case this is my last rodeo with y’all, appreciate y’all for everything.”
The Bears dropped their final game of the season 17-9 in a loss to the Green Bay Packers which may be Fields’ last game, and the veteran signal caller proactively said his goodbyes to the team when speaking with NFL journalists following the game.
The Bears own the top pick in the draft for a second straight year and now face a decision of sticking with Fields, or drafting a quarterback.
“We’re working from a position of strength and just going to continue to keep an open mind and look at all options,” Bears’ general manager Ryan Poles said during an appearance on one of ESPN’s sports talk podcasts on Sunday afternoon.
“Obviously when you’re looking at the numbers, I would say that it didn’t [improve enough] because we’re at the bottom third of the league,” Bears coach Matt Eberflus said of the season. “I think 27 it was the last time. So obviously that needs to improve. The passing offense runs through our skill players, right? Which is Cole [Kmet]. Cole had a really good season, and so did DJ. So we’re certainly excited about that, and we got some good shots down the field from Justin. He made some good connections with DJ and Cole this year, and we’ve just got to continue to improve that.”
“I have a pretty good relationship with Ryan and the guys upstairs,” Fields said. “At the end of the day, this is a business. They have to make the tough decisions. My job is just to go out there and play my best. It would mean a lot to get that confirmation from them and just really send a message that they trust me to lead this team and be the quarterback.”
