Psych! Justin Fields practiced in full on Thursday originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Just hours after Luke Getsy said he expected Justin Fields to remain limited all week, Fields ended up being a full participant at Bears practice.
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter here.
The surprise came when the Bears released their injury report following Thursday’s practice. On Wednesday, Justin Fields said the injured shoulder which kept him from playing against the Jets feels better now than it did last week. Still, the expectation was that Fields wouldn't be able to practice in full and his status to play against the Packers would be a game-time decision, as it was last week. If Fields is able to stack back-to-back full practices, however, the assumption would be that he's healthy enough to play.
The decision to play Fields against the Packers or have him sit another week will have several stages, just as it did last week. First, the Bears medical staff will need to fully clear him. Fields wasn’t able to clear that benchmark last week, so if he’s cleared this week that would be progress. After that, Fields, Matt Eberflus and Ryan Poles will come together to further evaluate whether Fields is healthy enough to do everything asked of him in the offense, and if he’s strong enough to protect himself from further harm. Beyond that, Getsy said the coaches aren’t looking for anything in particular as a sign that Fields will be good to go.
“If something was glaring that was prohibiting him from being able to throw the ball or something, I think everybody would see that,” Getsy said. “We're just coaching him up, trying to take advantage of whatever we can, any moment that we can, any rep that we're able to get just to continue his progression.”
Local
The Bears maintain that the upcoming bye week will not influence the decision to start or sit Fields this Sunday. Even with the opportunity to have Fields recuperate for three weeks in a row, the team says he’s being evaluated on a day-to-day basis like he would be at any other time of the year.
“If I feel like I can help my team win, help my team score points and put points on the board, then I’m going to go out there and play.”
Click here to follow the Under Center Podcast.
