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Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields has not had an impressive start to the year in 2022, and things could get worse before they get better in the Windy City. According to Ari Meirov, the Bears are expected to be without top offensive lineman and pass protector Cody Whitehair for a while after he sustained a knee injury in the loss to the Giants in Week 4.
#Bears LG Cody Whitehair, the best player on their offensive line, is going to miss some time with a knee injury suffered vs. the Giants.
That will sting. They can't afford injuries up front.ā Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) October 3, 2022
The loss of Whitehair is a big blow for the Bears, and particularly for Fields who has already been struggling massively in 2022. Even with Whitehair healthy, the Bears offensive line has provided subpar protection for Fields. Now down a starting member, that protection figures to diminish further still.
In fact, Fieldsā situation with the Bears can be described as the toughest in the league. Brad Spielberger of ProFootballFocus revealed that among NFL starting QBs, Fields sees the fewest percentage of dropbacks with a wide receiver considered to be āopenā or āwide open.ā Additionally, heās also dead last in the number of dropbacks he sees without pressure.
Has Justin Fields struggled? Yes
Does he have quite comfortably the toughest situation in the NFL? Also yes pic.twitter.com/gwWTvNxmD3
ā Brad Spielberger, Esq. (@PFF_Brad) October 3, 2022
What this tells us is that Justin Fieldsā struggles are real, but itās not entirely his fault. His receivers arenāt creating enough separation, and his offensive line isnāt doing nearly enough to give him time to find said receivers.
Losing Whitehair to a knee injury could see this trend get even worse for the second-year quarterback, which is something the 2-2 Bears canāt afford if they intend to keep fighting for a playoff spot in 2022, though thatās no guarantee.
This year, Justin Fields has completed just 50.7 percent of his pass attempts for 471 yards, two touchdowns, and four interceptions across four full games this year. Itās been a historically slow start for Fields, and things may not get better any time soon with Whitehair going down.