No Signs of Justin Fields Rust Yet

From what what Bears wide receiver DJ Moore has seen of his quarterback in practice, rust is going to be no factor for Justin Fields come Sunday in Detroit.

"He was our starting quarterback in the beginning so to have him back is lovely," Moore said.

Then again, as Allen Iverson once so famously said, so far "we're talking about practice," not a game.

"Practice can feel like a game because it's much harder but it's nothing like having game reps," Moore said Thursday at Halas Hall. "So he might have some rust in him, so hopefully he gets over it fast so we can go get that win."

Fields just missed his most football since his senior year of high school. When he came back from injuries in the past there wasn't a huge difference in his performances, but this is four games away.

Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy calls finding the consistency the team requires from their quarterback a possibility this week despite all the missed practice time.

"I mean, you're relying or leaning on all the work that you put in since two years ago, even for him, right?" Getsy said. "If you get specific to this offseason, to this training camp and all the game reps he's had already, and like I said, he's been close to playing. So it's not like it's just he hasn't done absolutely anything here in these last couple of weeks.

"So I think the way practice went yesterday and we continue to get more reps this opportunity this week, I think we'll be just fine."

Fields went out with his dislocated right thumb injury in the third quarter against Minnesota Oct. 15. Because the Bears had a Thursday game last week, there was only one practice. And Fields had a limited practice the previous Friday, his first practice since suffering the injury.

So, in essence, he came into this week with just one full practice since the injury.

Fields had two other instances when he returned from injuries and didn't display much rust but these were only two games away and one game away. He hasn't had to overcome four weeks away.

In 2021 as a rookie, he went 18 of 33 (54.5%) for 224 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions at Green Bay in a 45-30 loss after missing two games. Last year he came back and was 20 of 25 for an impressive 254 yards but had two late interceptions and a 75.7 rating on the day in a 28-19 loss at home to the Packers.

If what Moore saw from Fields in practice counts for anything, it shouldn't be different after four weeks away.

"He's just been on spot and on the money with a lot of things," Moore said. "He took back command of the huddle. So, I mean. we all go for it."

Coach Matt Eberflus had said consistency is what he wants to see from Fields. To Getsy this is another way of saying avoid turnovers.

"It always starts with taking care of the football, right?" Getsy said. "I think that’s the starting point for anybody on offense, specifically the quarterback and then just like what I was mentioning before. It's about getting better and progressing each and every week, right? And so, I think there were really cool parts of this season when we saw that from him, right? And unfortunately, the injury comes. So let's get back on track with that and continue to grow together."

Getsy understands the pressure being applied from the outside to see Fields improve in the final seven games so big decisions on the future of the position can be made.

"Maybe it's fair for them to have to think that way and do that thing but from our perspective, it's about us getting better as a unit each and every day and I think Justin's a big part of us getting better each and every day," Getsy said. "If he grows and gets better than we're gonna grow and get better."

It will be easier for this to happen without rust on Sunday.

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