PHOENIX — Justin Fields’ first year with the Bears helped get him his latest job.
Speaking at the NFL’s Annual Meeting on Tuesday, coach Andy Reid said the team traded for Fields in part because of his experience in head coach Matt Nagy’s system. Fields played his rookie season in 2021 under Nagy before the Bears fired the head coach.
Fields will serve as insurance in case star quarterback Patrick Mahomes can’t recover from his torn ACL in time to start the season opener. Fields will act as the Chiefs’ starter throughout the offseason program.
“Not only do we like him as a player, but he was also in this offense as a rookie with Matt Nagy,” Reid said. So it’s not going to be completely foreign to him. “I look forward to getting him in here — for the most part because he’s a good player and if Pat can’t go for whatever reason, you’ve got a legitimate guy in there who can play and win games for you.”
The Bears traded Fields, their former first-round pick, to the Steelers two years ago. He went 4-2 as the starter before being replaced by Russell Wilson. The Jets signed Fields last offseason and made him the starter, only for him to go 2-7. The Chiefs traded for him two weeks ago, giving up a 2027 sixth-round pick.
Reid said Tuesday that Mahomes was progressing well in his rehab.
“He’s doing good,” he said. “It’s hard to measure if he’s ahead of schedule or not.”