Sports Doctor Fears Justin Fields’ Injury Might Be Worse Than Expected

Justin Fields had an afternoon to forget on Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings. After struggling to do anything on offense for almost three quarters, a sack by Danielle Hunter led the Bears quarterback to leave the game with an apparent hand injury. He then went to the locker room and never returned. Never a good sign. After the Chicago Bears fell 19-13, reports surfaced that Fields had avoided anything broken. However, he did dislocate the thumb on his throwing hand. He’d hoped to return to the game but found he couldn’t grip the football.

David Chao, a former NFL doctor, spoke on the situation. He fears that detail could prove disastrous for Fields and the Bears’ season. He explained in a recent video that there could be ligament damage in the thumb that will require surgery to stabilize the joints. If so, there is a good chance Fields will miss six weeks of action. That means the Bears wouldn’t see him suit up again until after the bye week on December 10th. By then, the season will long be over, and the team brass will likely be searching for his eventual replacement.

This could be the end of Justin Fields.

If so, it’s horribly fitting. That sack he suffered the injury on was his 115th since arriving in Chicago. Everybody with common sense knew there was no way his body would handle that level of physicality over a long period of time. It didn’t matter how hard he worked to stay in peak shape. The human body can only take so much punishment. All one can do is feel bad for Fields. For the briefest of moments, it felt like he might be turning the corner after two great showings against Denver and Washington. Then, as has become typical for him, he faltered against a well-coached opponent.

It feels like his window of opportunity to stop the Bears from moving on next off-season has closed. Even if he only misses four weeks instead of six, the season will be well out of reach unless Tyson Bagent works some magic. That seems unlikely, given the slate of tough opponents they have coming up. Justin Fields tried. He did everything in his power to reach the level of a franchise quarterback. In the end, too many things went against him. Not all of it was his fault, but enough of it was to make the difference.