Justin Fields is quietly having an incredible stretch of practices

While most Chicago Bears fans are caught up in what might happen with All Pro linebacker Roquan Smith, training camp rages on as usual.

One of the biggest storylines this year, with the Bears, is going to be what we see out of quarterback Justin Fields. Will he be able to take that second year leap? If so, how does he do it with so little talent surrounding him?

It’s true, general manager Ryan Poles could (and should) have done so much more for his quarterback during the offseason. But, here we are, just a month away from Week 1 and Fields has to play the hand he’s been dealt.

Fortunatley, the former first-round pick is stringing together a phenomenal week of practice — and much of it without his top receiving weapons.

Justin Fields is having an impressive stretch at Chicago Bears training camp, and we need to be talking about it.

Just two days ago, NFL Network’s Stacey Dales was on scene for Bears Family Fest and said “Justin Fields looked the best I’ve ever seen.”

A day later, Fields had maybe his best practice yet, with many reports of several “perfect passes,” including a dime deep ball to Isaiah Coulter.

CHGO’s Will Dewitt was one of the reporters that called many of Fields’ throws on Wednesday “perfect.”

Let’s establish the fact, too, that Fields’ wide receivers on Wednesday were all guys that may not make this roster. His top receiving options were Dazz Newsome, Nsimba Webster and Coulter.

The fact that Fields went out and had his best practice yet, with no-name receivers, is an extremely encouraging sign.

Let’s look at the facts, quickly. This past offseason, Ryan Poles took over and quickly admitted to a full-on rebuild. While it made sense, something that didn’t make as much sense was the lack of talent Poles added to surround his second-year quarterback.

The Bears’ top free agent pass catchers have combined for just over 1,400 career receiving yards. Yes, that would be Equanimeous St. Brown and Byron Pringle.

On top of those two additions, Poles gave prove-it deals to Dante Pettis (no where to be found amongst training camp headlines), Tajae Sharpe (same boat) and David Moore (carted off with an injury earlier this week).

Let all of that sink in.

If nothing else, we have seen Fields answer the call as to whether or not he is able to elevate the rest of this offense, even though it is no where near the type of help a franchise quarterback should be receiving in just his second year.

If you look at some of Fields’ peers in his draft class, such as Zach Wilson or Trey Lance, this year is going to be absolutely pivotal for them. The New York Jets added tons of talent around Wilson, thus giving the BYU produce zero excuses to improve this year after an abysmal rookie campaign.

Lance, meanwhile, has been given the reins over a guy who has taken them one game short of a Super Bowl just a season ago, Jimmy Garoppolo.

Then, there’s Fields, who is enduring an entire regime change, a new offense, coupled with the least amount of talent surrounding him out of those three guys.

Sure, this is only training camp. It’s only practice. Go ahead and insert the Allen Iverson clip, here, if you will. But, the signs from the second-year pro are extremely encouraging and Bears fans deserve to be excited.