Asante Samuel Wonders If Justin Fields Is Dooming Himself By Unfollowing The Bears
During the latest episode of their Bleav podcast Say What Needs to Be Said, former All-Pro and four-time Pro Bowler Asante Samuel and former NFL pro Elton Patterson unpacked the latest drama swirling around the Chicago Bears and their incumbent starting quarterback, former Ohio State Buckeyes standout Justin Fields.
The Bears lucked into a second straight year with the No. 1 draft pick, and though they opted to ultimately trade down last spring in favor of giving Fields another shot, it sure seems like both sides are open to a divorce this year, especially considering how intriguing the 2024 class of play callers is looking. The USC Trojans' Caleb Williams, the North Carolina Tar Heels' Drake Maye, and the LSU Tigers' Jayden Daniels are generally considered the cream of the crop.
Fields recently opted to unfollow Chicago on his social media accounts, while following many Atlanta Falcons.
"Justin Fields, he unfollows the whole Bears team thing and he starts following the Atlanta Falcons," Samuel said. "What is this all about?"
"I'm always that I know I'm a tap into my agent life... and give y'all my agent point of view," Patterson said. "Don't do that, do not be under contract -- I don't know why these kids do. this is the business -- you are under contract with the Chicago Bears. Do not follow them [the Falcons] on all your social media. Just chill."
"You're kind of showing the team that, 'I'm checked out. I don't want [to] be around here no more. So the team, the head coach, the GM [feel], 'We don't want this energy around here,'" Samuel said. "Let it show your hand and let everything play out and then you unfollow."
"You take Chicago out the midst, there's one less team that likes you, right?" Patterson responded. "That you let everybody know... So the value goes down when you check out."
"I can see potentially two landing spots for him or maybe three only two or three and the Falcons [are] one,"Samuel noted. "But here's the thing. He's, I would say, a C-list quarterback in my eyes at this point. He can grow and get better. So when you bring him in, you trade [him] for [a] second round pick or a third round pick. You're going to go get someone else in the draft also. So he's there to compete for the job or be the backup. And I think the Falcons can do that. I think I think the Patriots can do that with him and also the Jets with Aaron Rodgers. So I think there's also some potential that is. But I'm not sure if anyone is so eager to bring him in and say, you're running my team, you are a franchise quarterback. I don't see too many people doing it."
The 6'3", 227-pound two-time former Graham-George Offensive Player of the Year and two-time Griese-Brees Quarterback of the Year entered the league in 2021, when he was selected by Chicago with the No. 11 pick in the draft. An intriguing running quarterback, he has shown flashes of promise, but hasn't been able to consistently produce at the pro stage just yet, with questions emerging about his decision making in the pocket (a lack of quality weapons or a good O-line hasn't exactly helped, in fairness).
For his career thus far, Fields has completed 578 of 958 passing attempts (60.3%), boasts a 40:30 touchdown-to-interception ratio, and has accrued 6,674 total passing yards and 2,220 rushing yards. He holds the record for the most rushing yards by a quarterback in a regular season game, with 178, recorded in a 35-32 November 2022 loss against the Miami Dolphins.
