Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields was officially ruled out for Sunday's Week 12 matchup against the New York Jets because of his left shoulder injury. Trevor Siemian was slated to start in Fields' place in a battle of the backups, with Mike White taking over for the benched Zach Wilson under center this week for New York.
However, Siemian suffered an oblique injury in warmups, paving the way for Nathan Peterman to start … only for the Bears to leave the door open for Siemian to start right before kickoff.
Fields briefly took the field during Sunday's pregame warmups to throw a few passes, but he quickly returned to the locker room. The shoulder is clearly still bothering him too much to play after the door had been left slightly ajar for him to suit up.
Justin Fields suffered the shoulder injury in the late stages of the Bears' Week 11 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. He said he suffered a separated shoulder with ligament damage, but he wasn't ruled out throughout the week. It always seemed like a long shot that he would be ready to go, though, so this could have been some elaborate gamesmanship on the Bears' part.
While Chicago is just 3-8 on the season, there's palpable excitement for the future because of Fields' development. Fields has become one of the best running quarterbacks in the NFL, racking up 834 yards and seven touchdowns as part of the best rushing offense in the league. While the passing game still needs work, the young quarterback has shown growth in that area as well this season, especially when it comes to putting the ball in the end zone. He tossed eight touchdown passes over the last four games.
While it's a bummer for Fields to miss time, it's smart for the Bears to be cautious, especially with a shaky offensive line against a ferocious Jets defense. Chicago shouldn't risk Fields' future in a season that has no playoff hopes, so this is the right call.
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