David Carr had some words of wisdom for the Chicago Bears brass on Monday. The summation of those words; be patient, and be smart with Justin Fields. Carr went on the Dan Patrick show Monday morning to talk the upcoming NFL season and the conversation predictably turned towards the play of the numerous rookie quarterbacks this preseason. When the subject of Justin Fields came up and his outplaying of Andy Dalton, Carr tried to pump the brakes on the rush to get Fields under center.
"Do we want to put Justin Fields behind the Bears offensive line that I've watched the last three weeks? Absolutely not. I've been in that situation." – David Carr on @dpshow
— Andrew Perloff (@andrewperloff) August 30, 2021
Carr pointed out what every Bears fan has seen this preseason; the Bears offensive line has been bad. Very bad. Fields has played well despite this but has spent much of the preseason under pressure, running for his life, or absorbing big hits in the pocket. That type of experience for a young quarterback can be detrimental to both their confidence and physical well-being. Carr knows this and was able to speak from experience.
Drafted #1 overall by the Houston Texans in the 2002 NFL Draft Carr was sacked 76 times as a rookie, most in the NFL. He was sacked 208 times in his first three seasons in the league, including a league-leading 49 times in 2004 and league-leading 68 times in 2005. Due in part to this punishment Carr was never able to achieve his full potential in the NFL and is used as a cautionary tale for teams putting young signal-callers behind inept offensive lines. Carr never had Fields mobility and athletic ability to help him get out of trouble As we saw against the Bills, however, even with the ability to escape pressure, Fields can be put at risk of big hits.
The Bears open the regular season on September 12th against a vaunted Los Angeles Rams pass rush. How much playing time Fields will see remains to be seen.
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