Faced with the option of going with No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams or sticking with Justin Fields, the Chicago Bears decided to roll with the former, which led to Chicago trading Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he is now serving as the backup to Russell Wilson to begin the 2024 campaign.
Considering how Fields' stint in Chicago went down, it came as zero surprise that the Bears went with the upside of Williams, who will also be on a rookie contract for the next five years.
But not helping Fields' cause, according to a report, was the apparent lack of trust his head coach, Matt Eberflus, had in him late in games.
According to Bill Zimmerman of Windy City Gridiron, there are many people around the team who believe that Eberflus "didn't trust" Fields as a passer, which impacted the Bears coach's decision-making in the fourth quarter of games.
"There are plenty of people around the team (media and non-media) who believe that many of Eberflus’ questionable decisions were made because he didn’t trust Justin Fields to do the right thing with the football," Zimmerman wrote. "On third-and-6 from the opponent's 30, Eberflus was more comfortable running the football and settling for a field goal than risking a turnover on a pass or a bad sack that knocks them out of field goal range."
Along with Fields, former offensive coordinator Luke Getsy was let go, also. When you add it all up, it feels like the Bears are looking for scapegoats to justify Eberflus keeping his job despite an abysmal 10-24 record, but we can't say for sure.
Whatever the case may be, Fields is getting a fresh start in Pittsburgh and will look to revive his career in what is the final year of his deal. In order for that to happen, he'll first need Wilson to falter and open the door for him to get the job. If not, the most Fields can hope for is seeing the field in special packages.
