Jay Cutler's advice to Justin Fields: ‘Be patient'

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Should the Chicago Bears start Justin Fields as a rookie or sit him? It's the great debate in the Windy City at the moment.

The Bears front office and head coach Matt Nagy are preaching development while Andy Dalton handles starting duties. Meanwhile the fan base is salivating at the thought of Fields and what he can do for the team.

Former Bears quarterback Jay Cutler, and statistically the best quarterback in franchise history, offered his advice to Fields, the team and the fan base.

“Just be patient. There are going to be some incredible ups and incredible downs, especially in that year one,” Cutler told Barstool Sports’ Red Line Radio. “Just be patient. Be really patient, and hopefully the fans and the organization and everyone in Chicago is patient with him as well.”

This isn't the first time Cutler has preached patience in handling Fields since the 2021 NFL Draft.

“I wouldn’t play the kid to start,” Cutler said on ESPN 1000 in May. “I would let him watch. I think it’s just a tough spot to put someone out there, especially in Chicago. I think Andy is more than serviceable. I think they can win games with Andy and kind of float the ship along until the kid is ready.”

In that May interview, Cutler also remembered his own learning curve coming into the NFL and how sitting benefitted him personally.

"When you’re playing quarterback, there are a lot of moving parts,” Cutler said. “I didn’t take the reps so I wasn’t ready to play.

"But I also feel like it benefited me tremendously watching it. Seeing the ups and downs. Seeing us lose games. Seeing us win games.”

Fields is arguably more talented than Cutler coming into the NFL but Cutler had significantly more playing experience in college, throwing almost twice as many passes in college.

We'll see how training camp and the season unfolds.

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