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The Bears entered the season needing to see whether Justin Fields could be their franchise quarterback. When he dislocated his right thumb Sunday against the Vikings, time might have run out.
The injury presents two paths moving forward for Fields, and both are challenging: either he sits out for weeks or returns and plays hurt.
Any start missed is one fewer opportunity between now and the end of the season — when the Bears will hold two high draft picks and, increasingly, a chance to draft a top-tier passer — to change the trajectory of Fields’ disappointing season.