Chicago Bears QB Justin Fields does not need surgery

With Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus failing to provide any coherent updates on the status of starting quarterback Justin Fields after Fields suffered a dislocated right thumb last Sunday, information regarding the injury has often been provided by national reporters.

Fields is expected to miss the Bears’ game against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday with rookie quarterback Tyson Bagent expected to get the start but it remains to be seen how long the third-year quarterback will be out.

Eberflus has left the idea of Fields having surgery on the table but that appears to have been discredited by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport on Thursday night. When talking about the injuries to the starting quarterbacks in the Bears’ game against the Raiders, Rapoport mentioned that “no surgery is coming” for Fields.

Chicago Bears starting quarterback Justin Fields reportedly will not need surgery to repair his dislocated right thumb.

Even with surgery presumably off the table for Fields, there still is an expectation that the quarterback will miss multiple weeks. The common theory is that Fields may miss three to four weeks while recovering from the injury and showing an ability to grip the ball.

To no fault of Fields, the injury has placed his position as the team’s starting quarterback moving forward in serious question. While an injury should never be the reason that a player loses their starting job, Sunday will allow for an opportunity for the Bears to see how the offense is run without Fields as their quarterback.

For a team that is projected to have the top two picks in the 2024 NFL Draft, this will be their first look at life after Fields. No, Bagent likely will not be the answer for the Bears at the quarterback position but it would seem that his insertion as the temporary starting quarterback of the team will get them closer to their next franchise quarterback in the making–USC’s Caleb Williams or North Carolina’s Drake Maye.