Good news for Chicago Bears: he is back…

Justin Fields’ reaction upon seeing the Bears defenders again during practice
Although Justin Fields still has some obstacles to overcome in his rehabilitation, his teammates were pleased with what they saw when QB1 returned to practice.

Justin Fields, the quarterback, returned to practice on Friday and completed a successful week at Halas Hall by throwing for the first time since dislocating his right thumb 19 days prior.

Fields reported that he “felt good” and that his recovery is going well. There’s a “51 percent” chance Fields won’t play when the Bears visit the Saints in New Orleans on Sunday, according to head coach Matt Eberflus. Fields is officially rated as “doubtful” by the Bears for the Week 9 matchup. Since Eberflus became head coach, the Bears have not used any of the players they had listed as questionable.

Fields is not expected to play again on Sunday in New Orleans. Before the game against the Saints, the Bears declared that undrafted rookie Tyson Bagent would start, with Fields still being evaluated “week-to-week.” With an improvement to “day-to-day,” the injured starting quarterback for the Bears is obviously on the rise.

Regarding Fields’ return to practice on Friday, safety Eddie Jackson remarked, “He looked pretty good, he looked pretty good.” Nineteen days is a long time. Time is passing quickly. He had a nice appearance.”

Fields still doesn’t have his full grip strength back. He’s using a glove on his throwing hand to lessen the amount of pressure on his injured thumb.

Although Bagent received the majority of Fields’ reps on Friday, Bears defenders didn’t see much of him, but Fields’ first day back showed promising early results.

NBC Sports Chicago was told by cornerback Jaylon Johnson, “I’d say he looked really strong.” He didn’t use a lot of repetitions. However, it appeared that he had a strong arm.”

In nearly three weeks, Fields said he will assess how his body reacts to his first throws. He’ll get ready as if he were playing, but before he can go back, there are a lot of things he needs to make sure of.

Fields stated on Friday, “Just hoping that I can make all the throws and be strong enough to take hits and stuff like that during the game.”

When asked if Fields might play in Week 10 against the Panthers if he is unable to play on Sunday, Eberflus responded, “That really depends on Justin, where his pain tolerance is when he throws and then also the functionality of it, where it goes from there.” Every day goes by, and then the trainers tell us where he is. As a coaching staff, we look at it and work through it, saying, ‘Hey, this is where he is.'” He is right. It looks fantastic. “Everything appears to be in order,” and proceed.

In the two games following Fields’ injury, the Bears are at a draw. Bagent contributed to the Bears’ victory over the collapsing Las Vegas Raiders by playing well in his first career start. In Week 8, things were different as the undrafted rookie struggled in the Los Angeles Chargers’ 30-13 loss at SoFi Stadium.

The Bears were confident in Bagent’s ability to lead the team for however long Fields is out despite the uneven game in Los Angeles.

Following the Chargers defeat, Jackson told NBC Sports Chicago, “He did a pretty good job.” It’s a lesson to be learned. Undoubtedly, it’s a lesson to be learned. They moved around on him a lot and gave him a few different looks. Still, I adore his poise. He held his ground in the pocket. He throws things. Man, he’s just going to have to learn from this one. Not everything will be sunshine and picket fences.

“There will be highs and lows. It all depends on his reaction. He is an opponent. He never loses humility. He never stops learning. He never gives up. It served as a teaching moment.”

Fields has been “integral” in getting Bagent ready for every start. The fact that Bagent has performed admirably as the starting quarterback in his absence doesn’t surprise the third-year quarterback.

Fields remarked, “Tyson’s been great.” “He performed admirably in the opening game against the Raiders. He gave a shitshow. He merely wants to learn new things every day, and he is aware that he can ask me any questions and I will be happy to assist him. Yet he’s been excellent. The guys have been led by him. He is prepared to leave.

Fields is probably going to watch from the sidelines on Sunday again, but on Friday, he made a significant progress toward his comeback and gave his teammates hope that it would happen soon.