Browns’ win over Bears puts former Ohio State football QB Justin Fields at the Baker Mayfield crossroad — Jimmy Watkins
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Justin Fields has two paths forward, and Bears receiver D.J. Moore knows which one he would pick.
Moore, acquired in an offseason trade that also netted the Panthers’ 2024 first-round pick, is on pace for the best season of his career. His quarterback is, too. But whenever the Bears drop a game, like the one they lost 20-17 to the Browns on Sunday, Moore is asked to re-assess the question that will define Fields’ future.
Should the Bears extend Fields’ contract, or should they use that Panthers’ pick (projected first overall) on a rookie that makes him expendable?
“Y’all asked me that, what, last week?” Moore said Sunday. “I’m still like, bruh, where are y’all seeing this? What makes him not the quarterback for the Chicago Bears right now? I get you got everybody coming out (of college) – what, it’s like two (prospects)? I don’t think they’re better than Justin.”
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Their names are Caleb Williams and Drake Maye, and they represent the hope that Fields used to as a college prospect. In 22 starts at Ohio State, Fields totaled 6,834 yards and 85 touchdowns. He threw nine interceptions and lost two games. His highlights had Bears fans drooling on draft night in 2021, when Chicago picked him 11th overall.
That lust rarely lasts, however, especially in a business where potential must be proven weekly. Since being drafted, Fields is 8-26 as a starter with 37 touchdowns and 27 interceptions. He’s one of two quarterbacks this century to throw for fewer than 6,000 yards with at least 800 pass attempts in his first 34 starts (the other, former Ravens quarterback Kyle Boller, did not work out). And his uneven play –combined with his team’s chance to upgrade at his position — plants Fields at the Baker Mayfield crossroad.
Remember that street, Cleveland? Remember how Mayfield, the Browns’ first overall pick in 2018, divided the fan base during the 2021 season? One camp believed Mayfield’s left shoulder injury explained his regression. The other saw evidence that the Browns needed a new quarterback. And from week to week — even down to down — both would argue their point was being proven.
