Matt Nagy makes surprise announcement regarding Justin Fields

Former Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields is officially the starting quarterback for the Chicago Bears. Head coach Matt Nagy announced the news on Wednesday as the 2-2 Bears prep for Week 5.

“We’ve been patient with this, we’ve grown with him, we’re proud of Justin,” Nagy said.

Matt Nagy announces that Justin Fields is the Bears' starting QB moving forward.

— Field Yates (@FieldYates) October 6, 2021

Nagy said on Monday that the Bears were waiting on a status update on Andy Dalton’s health before crowning Justin Fields.

With Dalton still sidelined due to injury, head coach Matt Nagy gave rookie quarterback Justin Fields his second career start on Sunday, and Fields turned in a solid performance in a 24-14 Bears victory.

Fields only threw the ball 17 times, but he managed to complete 11 of those passes for 209 yards. He did not throw a touchdown and he threw an interception, but Fields led a Bears offense that was efficient in averaging 10.3 yards per pass attempt. 

Through the first four games of the season, Fields, a product of Ohio State, has completed 48 percent of his passes for 347 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions, while being sacked 12 times.

Fields has also added 55 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown to that total. Dalton, on the other hand, had a 73.5 completion percentage before his injury, throwing for 262 yards, one touchdown and one interception in two games. Nick Foles has not yet appeared in a regular-season game in 2021.

Dalton injury opens door for Fields

When Nagy first announced that Dalton would serve as the Bears starting quarterback — evidently, so the franchise could ease in its franchise first-round draft pick in Fields — he shut down any conversation that Fields was still competing for the role. Instead, he said that Dalton has won the role, and Fields may infrequently see the field as a change-of-pace option.

Two weeks into the season, Dalton was injured on a first-quarter quarterback rush in which he stepped out of bounds untouched. He came up limping after the play and ultimately hobbled to the Bears sideline. Dalton’s non-contact injury was enough for Nagy to remove his starting quarterback and replace him with Fields, who in Week 1 scored his first NFL touchdown on a three-yard goal-line carry.

As it stands, Dalton is week-to-week with a knee injury.

Buckeye to Bears starter

Before becoming the future of the Chicago Bears franchise, Justin Fields was a five-star recruit in the state of Georgia. He decided to stay home at Georgia, playing limited time behind Jake Fromm.

Fields then transferred to Ohio State and became an immediate starter. The 6-foot-3, 227-pound quarterback led the Buckeyes to consecutive College Football Playoff appearances before leaving for the NFL Draft.

He finished his college career with 5,701 passing yards, 67 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He also ran for 1,133 yards and 19 touchdowns over his three seasons.