The 2021 NFL Draft was quite a franchise-altering one for multiple teams across the league, including the Chicago Bears.
In need of a quarterback after they decided to not bring back Mitchell Trubisky, the Bears opted to trade up to the No. 11 pick in the draft to select Fields. There was much speculation at the time that Fields would go on to be picked by the San Francisco 49ers with their No. 3 overall selection in the draft, but they instead elected to take a chance on Trey Lance.
Many quarterbacks across the league have taken it personal with their own draft snubs, but this is not the case for the former Ohio State standout.
“I'm glad to be here, so I'm glad that [the 49ers] passed on me,” Fields said during a press conference on Wednesday. “Just ready to play this weekend.
“The draft is the draft. You can take (Darnell) Mooney (a 2020 fifth-round pick). Shoot, he got passed by 32 teams. It's like, ‘you're in the league now, do your job, execute at a high level.' It's Week 1 and we're here to play ball. We're not worried about last year's draft: ‘Oh, this team passed on me.' I'm not thinking about that. It's not going through my head.”
Fields featured against the 49ers in his rookie campaign, although San Francisco ended up having the last laugh in the matchup via the 33-22 victory. The Bears quarterback did not have his best throwing outing in the contest as he threw one interception and posted an 84.6 passer rating, but the 49ers had little of an answer for him on the ground; he recorded 103 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown on the day.
For now, Fields will look to get the Bears on the right track in the opening game of the Matt Eberflus era with a possible home win over San Francisco. They sure aim to string together a winning streak early in the upcoming season, especially as they will soon have a run of four road games in five weeks, which include back-to-back road showdowns with the New England Patriots and the Dallas Cowboys next month.
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