Justin Fields turned 24 on Sunday, prompting social media celebrations on Bears Twitter.
There were highlight packages and proclamations of love, but surprisingly no gifts! That got us thinking, what might the starting quarterback of the Chicago Bears want for his birthday?
NEW VEGAN MENU AT HALAS HALL
When the NFLPA released its first ever report card for all 32 NFL organizations, the Bears had extremely poor marks for their food service/nutrition plan. To be fair, whenever Fields was spotted eating a sandwich or enjoying a little snack in the locker room, he would be sure to praise the Bears team for making tasty vegan food for him. With so many of his teammates thinking the food could be better at Halas Hall though, could a change in the food program take Fields to new culinary heights while he fuels up?
A HEALTHY DARNELL MOONEY AND CHASE CLAYPOOL
The bromance between Fields and Darnell Mooney is well documented. The two train together, hang together, and see themselves having long productive careers together in Chicago. Expectations were high in 2022, but it took Mooney and Fields a few weeks to get into a groove on game days. As soon as Mooney started scoring, however, he got hurt. It’s almost an identical story for Claypool. The Bears hoped they’d found a serious threat on the outside for Fields when they traded away a second-round pick for Claypool, but it took several weeks for the results to come. Things finally started clicking in their fifth game together, but Claypool got hurt and their development together was derailed. It’s reasonable to think this trio could take a big jump in 2023, since everyone will be more comfortable in Luke Getsy’s offense, but getting everyone healthy at the same time will be essential.
REUNION WITH WIDE RECEIVER JAXON SMITH-NJIGBA
Fields has said he would love to reunite with his Ohio State teammate Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and Smith-Njigba has said the same thing. The ultimate gift for Fields would be to make that happen when the draft rolls around next April. Fields and Smith-Njigba played for one season together at Ohio State, but they weren’t exactly a prolific duo as Buckeyes. The two only connected for 10 catches for 49 yards and a touchdown, but the lack of production is understandable. Fields was in his final season when Smith-Njigba was a freshman. Maybe that one season together could be the foundation needed to jump start a great professional partnership though?