Justin Fields, overall, has not produced ideal seasons at the quarterback position with the Bears.
Sure, last season, the Bears unveiled a new-founded skillset in the run game with Fields. He ran for the second-most quarterback rushing yards ever in NFL history. Fields also improved his ability to escape the pocket and evade defenders.
Still, however, he has yet to consistently prove he can be an effective pocket passer. He's totaled just over 4,000 yards in two seasons, along with a subpar TD: INT ratio at 24:21. Fields is nowhere near an above-average passer in the league consistently.
But, most made the argument the roster around him wasn't talented enough to give him a chance to thrive. Last season, their wide receiver core was suboptimal, their offensive line allowed him to be sacked 55 times and their offense focused widely on rushing the ball.
What about now? After free agency and draft improvements, is the roster ready enough to give Fields a fair shot at success?
"You will be able to make a much more, a much fairer evaluation as to just how good is Justin Fields," Louis Riddick said on ESPN 1000. "How good can he be as we continue to build out this team? Much more so than, obviously, you could last year.
"But no, it's not a finished product. You can't just wipe your hands and say if Justin succeeds, it's because of what we did. And if Justin fails, it's on him because we did enough. No, you can't say that yet."
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Indeed, the roster has improved dramatically.
Let's start with free agency. The Bears brought in a whole new cast of linebackers in Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards, who are high-caliber backers. Ryan Poles & Co. also signed D'Onta Foreman, who rushed for nearly 1,000 yards last season. And they signed Nate Davis to become the team's starting right guard.
In the draft, the Bears notched their starting right guard in Darnell Wright. They bolstered the trenches with Gervon Dexter and Zacch Pickens in the second and third rounds. On the outside, the Bears have a potential starting outside cornerback in Tyrique Stevenson; plus, another addition to the wide receiver corps in Tyler Scott.
"I think you have upgraded the roster on this side of the ball dramatically. There's no question about it," Riddick said.
Back to the original question – is the roster good enough for Fields to thrive?
In short, yes. On the offensive side, the Bears have a phenomenal pass-catching cohort in DJ Moore, Darnell Mooney, Chase Claypool (despite his question-mark reputation), Cole Kmet and Robert Tonyan. That's a solid group to work with.
The offensive line is better, too. Braxton Jones and the aforementioned Wright will hold down the edges. On the inside, Davis, Cody Whitehair and Teven Jenkins will hold down the fort. That group is already much better than last season's pack.
The Bears did lose David Montgomery to the Detroit Lions in free agency. But Riddick made a point to highlight Roschon Johnson, the running back out of Texans who the Bears drafted in the fourth round.
"Roschon Johnson is a frickin stud," Riddick said. "An absolute stud. At any other school that doesn't have Bijan Robinson sitting there in front of you. This guy is a major, major contributor and a major, major factor at any power five school."
It's important to note, as Riddick noted, despite the roster enhancements, this season is not the all-end be-all for Fields. He has two seasons left on his contract. Thatperiodd feels fair enough for Fields and the roster to improve synchronously.
Yes, quarterbacks like Jalen Hurts blew up in their third year, earning historic contracts by way of ultimate success with their rebuilding teams. But everyone's path is different.
As the question states, it's an evaluative year. If Fields doesn't win a Super Bowl or bring the Bears to the NFC championship, that doesn't mean he's not the guy. As Riddick stated, the Bears are still in the infant stages of this rebuild.
But, that doesn't mean, also, Bears fans shouldn't see growth and improvement from Fields this season. Expect that to come this season. And if it doesn't? We'll talk logistics then. Let's let that be next winter's problem.