Back to the Chicago Bears Newsfeed

Bears have a plan for rookie Justin Fields — but it’s not fool-proof

The Bears believe they’ve crafted the best plan for rookie quarterback Justin Fields: sitting the bench to start the season. But they’ve had three visitors to Halas Hall this week who prove there’s no one right way to develop a rookie quarterback.

Former Eagles coach Doug Pederson watched practice Friday and Saturday, while quarterback Alex Smith stopped by Wednesday to see Tua Tagovailoa, the fifth pick in the 2020 draft, practice with the Dolphins.

Tagovailoa had never met Fields until Wednesday.

“I watched when he came in as a freshman to Georgia then when he transferred to Ohio State,” Tagovailoa said.