Chicago Bears Schedule Release: When will Justin Fields start?

One of the reasons why the Chicago Bears were able to trade up and select Justin Fields with the 11th overall selection in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft is because the San Francisco 49ers reached with their third overall selection in the draft.

After trading up to the third spot in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft, the 49ers selected North Dakota State quarterback Trey Lance. The move was considered to be a reach by many NFL Draft evaluators as Lance was commonly ranked as either the fourth or fifth quarterback prospect in the 2021 NFL Draft class.

By all accounts, Fields was never in strong consideration to be taken by the 49ers with the third overall selection in the 2021 NFL Draft. For that reason, the 49ers are being mocked for making the same mistake that the Bears made in 2017. That mistake taking a quarterback in Lance that was more of the project instead of a much more polished quarterback in Fields. For the Bears, it was taking Mitchell Trubisky instead of Deshaun Watson or Patrick Mahomes. A mistake that Mahomes mocked the Bears for during a 2019 regular-season game,

The Bears’ 2021 regular season schedule sets up perfectly for Fields to be in a similar situation that Mahomes was in. The Bears will be hosting the 49ers during Week 8 of the NFL Regular Season and that creates the perfect opportunity for Fields to make his debut.

Justin Fields making his Chicago Bears against the San Francisco 49ers would be perfect.

Timing-wise, a Week 8 debut for Fields makes sense. The Bears have the intentions of starting Andy Dalton to begin the 2021 regular season. Waiting until Week 8 of the regular season to replace Dalton with Fields would allow the rookie quarterback to take time and observe the game at the pro level.

Not to mention, he likely would spend most of his time on the sidelines next to veteran quarterback Nick Foles. Foles, despite his poor performance as the Bears’ starting quarterback last season, still is heavily praised for his willingness to mentor young quarterbacks. By the time that Week 8 arrives, Fields may just be ready to take what he has learned from Foles and during practice and apply it in an actual game.