Justin Fields Ready to Roll Off Camera

Despite all the talk about Justin Fields cutting back on the running to throw it more, he honestly can't say what will happen because he doesn't know.

What he does know is he won't be doing any reality in-depth TV show soon like Netflix's "Quarterback" or HBO's "Hard Knocks," even if he already has done something like it in the past.

Fields showed up at training camp Tuesday with his hair different than last year, but sounding like he always does—talking about the team improving and going to a Super Bowl.

What's different this year is the Bears have talked extensively about getting where they're going off his arm rather than running it as much after he ran 160 times for 1,143 yards in 2022.

"I mean, to be honest, I'm not thinking before a play breaks down (thinking) 'Oh, I’m going to run this play' or 'I'm going to pass this play,' " Fields said. "I think it just happens the way it happens.

"So yeah, I don't make the decision beforehand whether I'm going to pass or run to be honest with you."

What Fields does know is that it's possible for the passing game to look better because he has better targets like DJ Moore and knows the offense well in his second season operating it.

"I think any time you're in the same offense two consecutive years, it does make it easier and you're not having to learn a new offense, new protections, new language within an offense," Fields said. "This offseason has definitely been easier for me in terms of diving deeper into the playbook and just a better understanding of it. I’ve definitely felt way more comfortable this offseason in OTAs than I have the past two, for sure."

The end result besides winning could be cementing his place in Chicago, with his fifth-year option coming due next spring.

The guy deciding on that option, or any potential contract extensions is GM Ryan Poles and he has his own idea of what he wants from Fields.

"Just improve," Poles said.

In the past this wasn't always possible due to the surrounding cast. Focusing on his own situation and fighting through anything else is all part of the improvement.

Poles' idea for Fields is "...taking where he wasn’t good and continuing to improve that and a lot of those things."

Fields has heard all the talk about cutting back on his running, but doesn't necessarily think putting more pressure on himself to produce with his arm is going to hurt his game.

"I don't feel pressure to pass more or anything like that," he said. "I think that's just naturally going to come with everybody getting more comfortable with the offense and the players around me."

The pressure can come from outside, as well.

Fields rarely seems to let outside forces bother him, but he was reluctant to let the Netflix people shoot him as subject for the program "Quarterback." He admits to having watched it.

"It was kind of cool, seeing everybody's different backgrounds and kind of seeing how they prepared," Fields said. "Just cool seeing also their personal lives and how they balance life and football.

"But they actually did reach out and I don't think I want to do it, just because I'd rather keep everything the way it is around here."

By "here," he means Halas Hall.

It's well known what the McCaskeys think about HBO's Hard Knocks and the behind-the-scenes type of things that are revealed. George McCaskey famously said in the offseason it was fine for 31 other teams.

Fields was in the show QB1, the second season of the docu-series on Netflix. It was done as he left Georgia and moved on to Ohio State.

They've gotten to Fields since then—they being the cloistered Bears and their McHalas Hall attitude.

"Just having cameras around the building, I think that might change the vibe of everyone," Fields said. "I just want to keep it natural and organic and really just focus on what's going on in the building. Maybe down the road, but I don't think I see myself doing it this year at least."

It would have to be down a long road, maybe one to another city because it's unlikely there would be an attitude change about it with the Bears any time soon.

"I would first say that's an internal conversations we would all have to see if it benefits the club to do," Poles said. "It's a tough one because I really believe this is a family setup where we have a lot of things going on in our building that you want to keep private. There's conversations. That's really tough. If we all threw a couple of cameras in our house, our bathrooms. Kinda weird, right?"

They could leave out the bathroom stuff.

"But I also understand the access part of it, and the fan part of it that is cool to see," Poles said. "So I'm kind of split on it, to be honest with you. But from my position it's a tough, tough deal."

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