Chicago Sports

The Chicago Cubs are expected to be very active in the free agent market, one of their targets longtime White Sox first baseman, Jose Abreu.

Jose Abreu has been arguably the best free agent signing that the Chicago White Sox ever made. The 2020 AL MVP, has parted ways with the south siders and is now entering free agency. The now 35-year-old first baseman, has been marked as a target for the Chicago Cubs.

According to Bruce Levine of the marqueesportsnetwork.com, the Cubs have a strong interest and are expected to reach out to the representative of Jose Abreu and gauge to see if there’s mutual interest.

“Abreu would solve numerous short term issues for the North Siders. First and foremost, the Cubs have no apparent first baseman from the farm system guaranteed to step in and lock down the position.” – Levine

This would be an upgrade for the Cubs at this point in both offense and leadership. A durable starter that can give you 500 plus at-bats per year. Abreu finished the 2022 campaign slashing .304/.378/.446, with 15 homeruns and 75 runs batted in. While his power numbers have gone down, Abreu is still a very productive hitter and can produce runs from the middle of the order.

Being in his late 30s and having a nine year career under his belt, Abreu would be an ideal fit for the Cubs in the leadership aspect of things. Matt Mervis, is someone who can learn from Abreu while splitting time with him at 1B/DH.

The Cubs are expected to be mayor players in a lot of free agents, Abreu is key due to the leadership and hitting potential that he brings. We’ll see if the Cubs can work out a deal with the veteran first baseman.

For More Great Chicago Sports Content

Follow us on Twitter at @chicitysports23 for more great content. We appreciate you taking time to read our articles. To interact more with our community and keep up to date on the latest in Chicago sports news, JOIN OUR FREE FACEBOOK GROUP by CLICKING HERE

Read More

It wasn’t the first time Patrick Williams faced the monster before.

Heck, the Bulls hosted Zion Williamson and the Pelicans in the preseason opener, with Williamson being Williams’ main assignment.

Just in case, however, leading up to the showdown with the 2019 overall No. 1 pick, Billy Donovan showed the film and reminded the entire team of what was coming.

“There’s certain teams or individual players that when you’re watching them on film, the film doesn’t do it justice, and clearly he’s one of those guys,” Donovan said of Williamson. “Like a team that’s really fast in transition, and you know they’re really fast, but like the film doesn’t do it justice. Then all of a sudden they get out there and it’s like, ‘Woah.’ Zion is that kind of player where, ‘OK, this guy is quick, he’s explosive, he’s big.’ But you don’t realize it until you’re actually in it.”

In the second half on Wednesday, the Bulls were in it, and knee-deep.

After holding Williamson to just four points in the first half, Williamson and the Pelicans turned it around, holding on to beat the Bulls 115-111.

Williamson scored 15 points in that second half, but it was also the attention he drew on double-teams that allowed the rest of his teammates to rally late.

And while New Orleans (6-5) had a Zion, the Bulls had a DeRozan.

With 1:24 left in the game and down one, veteran DeMar DeRozan drew the foul and hit both free throws. Brandon Ingram and DeRozan would trade baskets, but after Ingram hit a 19-footer with 39.7 seconds left, DeRozan drove in for the floater. One problem, and a big one, as Williamson redirected the shot, allowing Jonas Valanciunas to grab the defensive rebound.

Williamson was fouled with 19.4 seconds left, splitting the pair to make it a three-point game.

Out of the timeout, it seemed like DeRozan would have the chance to play hero yet again, getting the pass from Goran Dragic on the inbound.

He didn’t catch it cleanly, though, as it bounced off his foot and went out of bounds.

“There was a three-point shot on, as well as a two. Just a read-the-defense situation,” Donovan said of the play.

A read DeRozan wouldn’t have a chance to make.

“That was on me,” DeRozan said of the turnover. “Wasn’t on anyone else. I tricked it off, should have caught it. It’s just frustrating when we don’t give ourselves a chance to see what would happen by making mistakes.”

That turnover left the Bulls (6-7) no choice but to foul, and Herbert Jones made them pay, making both.

Ingram finished with 22, but it was Williamson’s aggressiveness, especially in the third quarter when Ingram was in foul trouble, that turned momentum.

“Zion can do it off the dribble, he can get in the paint, and you bring a big crowd at him, he shoots it, misses it, and he’s off the floor before anybody else,” Donovan said. “He’s such a unique player.”

One that they had under wraps early.

Whether it was the Bulls defense or simply the flow of the game, Williamson took just two shots the first half, scoring four points. The Bulls did blitz him with double teams at times, but he also seemed like he was easing himself into the game.

That changed coming out of the halftime locker room, as Williamson not only attacked the hoop to start the third, but helped put the Bulls on their heels, as the visiting team jumped out to its biggest lead of the game, going up 11 before Donovan called a timeout to try and slow the bleeding.

They did temporarily, but not when it mattered most.

Read More

LAS VEGAS – The offseason of the free agent shortstop is here again.

For the second straight year, the shortstop market is flush with elite talent. And you can bet the Cubs will continue to feel out their options at that position.

“I look at the shortstop situation kind of the way you look at the draft,” president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said at the GM Meetings on Wednesday, “which is, if you drafted a shortstop every year you’d be in good shape. The best defenders usually play shortstop, the best athletes often play shortstop, those are guys you can move around.”

Hoyer pointed to his own shortstop Nico Hoerner, who was Top-5 fielder at his position by defensive WAR this season, according to FanGraphs. He also was a Gold Glove finalist at second base two years ago.

“It’s a position where you can have multiple guys that can do it,” said Hoyer, who helped build a team that played Addison Russell and Javier B?ez side by side during the Cubs’ last championship window.

Now, imagine Hoerner playing alongside one of this winter’s top free agent shortstops. Carlos Correa, Trea Turner, Xander Bogaerts and Dansby Swanson headline the class.

“It’s just a rare, rare time to have players at young ages who are so demonstrated and accomplished at their position,” agent Scott Boras said of the shortstop market in a press conference Wednesday.

Boras also represents Correa and Bogaerts, so he’s inclined to rave about his players. But the point stands: This offseason presents a golden opportunity for teams looking to upgrade their middle infield.

When asked if he expected the Cubs would go after his shortstops, Boras said: “I think that any team that wants to get a lot better is going to go after the best players. And those rare shortstops who give you that two-way dynamic, they’re generational, they’re hard to find.”

The Cubs’ payroll next season is expected to be higher than this year’s. But annual value is only part of the calculation. Length of contract clearly played into their “intelligent spending” approach last winter. That won’t change this year.

In general, contracts approaching double-digit years for position players approaching 30 are going extinct. Don’t look for Hoyer to buck the trend to woo a shortstop. Correa is the youngest of those Top-4 free agent shortstops, and he turned 28 in September.

This phase of the Cubs’ rebuild, after a 74-88 season, makes for a hefty offseason wish list that can’t be checked off with one acquisition. The club will be focussed on adding pitching and offensive power. The latter could come from a number of positions.

The team has an opening in center field, and injuries to outfield prospects Brennen Davis and Alexander Canario have thinned their depth at the position.

“We have guys internally that will certainly play out there,” Hoyer said, “but I think the lion’s share might come from external.”

At first base, Hoyer said prospect Matt Mervis has “earned a lot of runway and playing time going forward.” Mervis, a power-hitting left-handed batter, climbed from High-A to Triple-A this past season, mashing 36 home runs. He then extended his run of success through the Arizona Fall League and was named Fall Stars Game MVP.

“He’s very much our plans,” Hoyer said. “But I think we’re also going to be active and exploring alternatives that can play first, that can play DH. And that I think it’s really important.”

Building in contingencies wouldn’t prevent the Cubs from giving Mervis the chance to prove himself in the big-leagues, but depth at first base would also take some of the pressure off him in his debut season.

Read More

With 2:32 left in the first quarter of Wednesday’s game at the United Center, the Bulls had their glass-cleaner back.

After missing six games with a left shoulder sprain, veteran big man Andre Drummond finally displayed enough mobility during the pre-game warm-up to get the head nod to return to action.

While there was definitely some rust that still needed to be worked through, Drummond quickly registered two rebounds in his five minutes of work.

Coach Billy Donovan was just glad to have his reserve center back out there.

“Certainly on the glass, rebounding,” Donovan said, when asked what was lost with Drummond sidelined. “He’s been an elite rebounder. Going back to that Toronto game in Toronto, we really got hurt with the impact he would or would not have made.

“He’s another screener, a guy that can roll and put pressure at the basket. He’s been a really positive addition for us, and for the minutes he’s gotten he’s played really well.”

That’s a bit of an understatement.

In just 16.8 minutes per game entering the meeting with the Pelicans, Drummond was averaging 10.2 rebounds per game. That would translate to about 20 rebounds per game if he was a 30-minute guy.

He also led the Bulls in player efficiency rating with 22.81, just in front of DeMar DeRozan’s 21.39.

What Donovan has really liked about Drummond is how he’s worked coming off the bench, especially with that second unit. The top five plus-minus leaders on the team so far this season have been the bench players, led by Alex Caruso and his plus-71. Drummond was fifth, sporting a plus-29.

Even with Drummond’s return, however, the Bulls were still playing a bit short-handed, as Coby White remained sidelined with a thigh contusion.

The Bulls are off until Sunday, and Donovan was hoping that White could be ready to return then.

Read More

Jeremy Fears Jr.’s return to Joliet West never seemed likely. As recently as August Fears had committed to play his senior season at the prestigious Overtime Elite league in Atlanta. The suddenness of the return has added to the excitement at the school and in Joliet as basketball season approaches.

Fears played at Joliet West as a freshman and then transferred to La Lumiere, a prep school in Indiana, when his sophomore season was delayed due to COVID. He achieved national prominence at La Lumiere, which plays on ESPN regularly.

Fears won two gold medals playing with USA teams in the summer. He’s the highest-ranked player in the state, currently checking in at No. 33 on 247sports. It’s been nearly 30 years since a Joliet player reached those heights.

The six-foot guard had his choice of a dozen high-major colleges and picked Michigan State. He signed his National Letter of Intent at a ceremony at Joliet West on Wednesday.

Choosing Michigan State was an easier decision than deciding where to spend his senior year. Fears’ father, Jeremy Fears Sr. still isn’t sure that returning home was the right move for his son.

“We will see how it goes,” Fears Sr, a standout player at Joliet Township and in college, said. “I hope it works out. I’m just worried that some of the accolades that he wants, like being a McDonald’s All-American, aren’t as realistic now. But he’s happy and he’s in a good space and that’s important.”

One of the major draws for Fears Jr. was the chance to play with his brother, sophomore Jeremiah Fears.

“It was tough to make this decision to come home but I just felt that deep down inside this is what was meant to be,” Fears Jr. said.

Joliet isn’t exactly a destination town. And as far as high schools go, Joliet Catholic is seen as the top choice by many residents. So when a kid that could play anywhere in the country chooses Joliet West, it resonates with the school and the community on a level far greater than just basketball.

“It was a group decision with his family and sometimes in group decisions everyone doesn’t agree,” Joliet West coach Jeremy Kreiger said. “But there is a lot to be said for someone who wants to blaze their own trail and become a legend from their hometown.”

More than 70 scouts and executives from 29 NBA teams attended Overtime Elite’s Pro Day in late October. There’s no doubt that Fears chose the less glamorous spot for his senior year.

“Yeah, it has definitely put a chip on my shoulder,” Fears Jr. said. “But we have a great schedule this year, playing all the best teams. This is where I wanted to be. I want to win a state championship in Joliet.”

While the Fears brothers are just starting their basketball journey together, a pair of brothers from Rolling Meadows are farther along. Cameron Christie, the younger brother of current LA Laker Max Christie, signed his letter of intent to Minnesota on Wednesday.

Like Fears Jr., Max Christie made the uncommon decision to stay and play at his home high school and signed with Michigan State. It all worked out well for Christie.

Cameron, a 6-5 senior, hasn’t received the avalanche of hype his older brother garnered. But that could change this season. Rolling Meadows has an excellent team and Christie is an elite scorer. He’s prepared for the extra effort every defender will put on the brother of a Laker this season.

“I’m looking forward to that,” Christie said. “It’s a privilege to be able to have that and I’m confident in my own abilities. I’m not trying to block that out at all. It’s just going to add some more entertainment to the season.”

Read More

LAS VEGAS – With Johnny Cueto likely gone in free agency, Lucas Giolito’s level of effectiveness a question mark after his 2022 dud and Michael Kopech still on the path toward establishing himself as a top of the rotation starter, the White Sox essentially have two anchors in the starting five in 2022 Cy Young finalist Dylan Cease and 35-year-old 2021 Cy Young finalist Lance Lynn.

That’s a fine pillar for a crucial segment of the roster, even with Lynn, who posted a 3.99 ERA in 21 starts after missing the first two and a half months following knee surgery, needing to re-establish his footing as he earns $18.5 million in 2023. Cease was the best starter in the AL besides Justin Verlander.

In any event, general manager Rick Hahn has four at this early stage of the offseason and will need to fetch at least one more if contending for the postseason is the goal. Hahn needs a second baseman and outfield help, the most talked about areas of need, but one or two holes in the most vital of areas of the roster demands his full attention, too.

Reynaldo Lopez (2.76 ERA in 2022) and Jimmy Lambert (3.26), who both have starting experience, will stay in the bullpen, Hahn said Tuesday at the GM meetings. Davis Martin, who spot-started nine times to the tune of a 5.48 ERA (4.83 in 14 games), is pegged for a similar role.

As Hahn said, Cueto’s expected departure leaves a void.

“Finding a way to fill that would be good,” Hahn said. “Now, Martin’s an option so it’s not an emergency by any stretch, but no one is ever going to feel comfortable that they have enough pitching.”

Indeed. The Sox would be looking for a back-end type, presumably a better addition than Vince Velasquez turned out to be for $3 million last season even if Cueto were under contract.

Left-hander Garrett Crochet will have a plan mapped out for him to become a starter but he is coming off Tommy John surgery and will pitch out of the bullpen when ready this season.

Kopech, 5-9 with a 3.54 ERA in 25 starts, pitched through knee problems and should report to spring training at 100 percent with substantial upside in his pocket.

Giolito, 11-9 with a 4.90 ERA in 30 starts, will be paid around $10.8 million per FanGraphs calculations in his last season before free agency, so there’s motivation, not that the former All-Star and Opening Day starter needs it. Hahn is “optimistic” Giolito, with help from pitching coach Ethan Katz, will revert to his past form.

“Expect him coming to camp ready to go,” Hahn said.

“If there’s one guy you know is going to work on it, and work diligently and methodically with a plan, it’s Lucas.”

Hahn reiterated this week that trades are the more likely avenue of improving the roster, but he also said he expected payroll to be similar to the $196 million of 2022, which allows for more than $30 million to be added.

The top of the free agent class is likely too pricey for the Sox, who don’t shop for starting pitching in the Jacob deGrom, Carlos Rodon, Justin Verlander, Clayton Kershaw, Jameson Taillon aisles. Perhaps Taijuan Walker, Jose Quintana, Ross Stripling, Tyler Anderson are deemed affordable.

Perhaps Hahn will pull off a trade or two that would capture bigger headlines than a free-agent signing. He has plenty of trade capital at his disposal with no one viewed as untouchable should the right deal present himself.

NOTES: Scot Boras, asked at the meeting if he was set on bringing new client Dylan Cease to free agency in 2025, reminded that his client Stephen Strasburg signed an extension with the Nationals in 2016 before becoming a free agent.”Our job is to just listen, take information, and then we transfer that to Dylan and see what he wants,” Boras said.

*ESPN will televise 2023 MLB Opening Night on March 30 featuring the White Sox against the World Series champion Astros in Houston at 6 p.m. CT.

*James Boscardin, a team physician from 1981-2003, has died, the Sox said.

Read More

In spite of Jonathan Toews’ best efforts, the Blackhawks have lost more faceoffs than they’ve won in each of the last seven seasons. Not since their 2014-15 Stanley Cup season have they finished above 50% in the circle as a team.

But this season, Toews is finally receiving support at the dot.

The Hawks led the NHL with a 57.0% team faceoff winning percentage entering Wednesday — a far cry from their 16th-place finish last season (with a 49.6% winning percentage) and 29th-place finish the season before (with a 46.3% winning percentage).

Toews, one of the best draw-takers of his generation, continues to do his thing, winning 59.6% of his 213 faceoffs so far. Max Domi has won 61.6% of his 172 draws, ranking fifth in the league individually. Sam Lafferty has won 52.0% of his 98 draws. Jason Dickinson has won 52.2% of his 69 draws. And MacKenzie Entwistle has won 57.5% of his 40 draws.

The team’s results are most impressive in the defensive zone (62.0%) and when shorthanded (59.6%), situations where faceoffs are particularly important and also particularly hard to win (considering the defending team’s draw-taker must put his stick down first). They predictably lead the NHL in those categories, too.

“We’re starting to get known a little bit for being good in the circle,” coach Luke Richardson said Wednesday. “So we have to be ready for teams to adjust.”

The Hawks are experiencing some of that opponent adjustment lately, with the Kings and Jets beating the Hawks in the final faceoff numbers in each of their last two games. (The Hawks had won the majority of faceoffs in nine of 10 games before that.)

They should remain a generally strong faceoff team the rest of the season, though. That’s partly because of the center personnel they’ve assembled, and partly because of the lessons that Toews — although he’s humble about it — and development coach Yanic Perreault, a legendary faceoff-taker during his playing career, impart on everyone.

“I can’t take any credit for that,” Toews said. “They’re working at it and they’re getting better. I shouldn’t say they’re getting better; they’re just good at it. It motivates me to stay on top of my game, too. It’s nice we have a bunch of centermen we can rely upon to take key faceoffs.”

Domi’s results are most remarkable of anyone, considering he’d won only 46.4% of 2,743 faceoffs over his career prior to this season.

He called the general concept of career averages “overrated,” but no one has been able to precisely identify what explains his sudden, dramatic improvement. He suggested simply playing center more regularly is helping, but he did that with the Canadiens from 2018 to 2020 and still produced subpar faceoff numbers during that period.

Whatever the reason, though, he’s certainly allowing the Hawks’ steady first line — with Patrick Kane and Andreas Athanasiou flanking him — to regularly begin shifts with puck possession.

“If you know you’re playing center, you put your reps in, you get comfortable in the dot, you get comfortable with the wingers [and] you get comfortable with the linesmen,” Domi said. “So I’m just getting more consistent playing in the middle.”

Added Toews: “He has good hand-eye [coordination], he’s really strong and he has that low center of gravity. It’s not much different than getting through a guy’s hands and getting under his stick — or over his stick — in a puck battle during play. There’s a lot of similarities. He does all that stuff really well, so that’s probably what makes him tough to beat.”

Read More

The Bears’ defense carrying the offense on its shoulders is an old storyline at Halas Hall. But the other way around — that’s a new one.

“It feels good to see them go out there and do what they do — just see 1 [Justin Fields] and the rest of the guys ball out on offense,” safety Eddie Jackson said. “But for us on defense — I was joking with [Darnell] Mooney today, ‘Man, we’ve been blowing that money for y’all on defense.’ Now it’s time for us to step up.”

Jackson is the lone remaining starter from the top-ranked defense in 2018 under Vic Fangio that carried the Bears to the NFC North title and the playoffs. But even earlier this season, it was the defense carrying the load. Through six games, the defense was tied for 11th in points allowed, while the offense was 31st.

But in a sudden reversal, it’s the offense carrying the load. In the last three weeks, the Bears have scored 94 points (second in the NFL in that span), while the defense has allowed 70 points in losses to the Cowboys (49-29) and Dolphins (35-32). And it could be that way for awhile. The defense has lost two stalwarts in linebacker Roquan Smith and defensive end Robert Quinn, who were traded. The offense has added wide receiver Chase Claypool, acquired in a trade with the Steelers.

Whether or not the emotional impact of losing Quinn and Smith played a factor in the Bears’ allowing 42 points to the Cowboys and 28 to the Dolphins the past two weeks, the Bears are past that and trying to re-establish their footing.

“Now it’s time to get back to it and play our type of ball,” Jackson said. “Offense has been helping us out tremendously –they’ve been doing a lot. I feel like we’ve been leaving them out to dry. So now we’re trying to get back to playing this thing in all phases.”

Linebacker Nick Morrow wouldn’t call it pressure to keep up, but he certainly feels the responsibility to take advantage of the offensive surge behind Fields.

“You definitely notice it,” Morrow said. “We have not been complementary as a defense — that’s on us. If they put the points on the board, it’s up to us to protect it. They gave us enough points to win and we didn’t do a good job of protecting the lead. We’ve got to do a better job. And I think we will.”

The question is how? The defense was a work in progress from the start and now is without Quinn and Smith. They have three rookies starting and playing full-time snaps — cornerback Kyler Gordon, safety Jaquan Brisker and linebacker Jack Sanborn — plus Dominique Robinson is in the regular rotation at defensive end. Another rookie defensive end Kingsley Jonathan, played seven snaps against the Dolphins last week.

But Jackson among others sees room for growth with the current lineup.

“I feel like [Wednesday] was a great step. We had a great practice — everyone flying around to the ball,” Jackson said. “Coach [Matt Eberflus] called us out on some little things –hustle, just get back to that. Showing film of guys not hustling like we were earlier in the season. Just trying to get back to that playing style and back to the type of defense we know we’re capable of. So when coach Flus pointed that out, it was like, ‘Yeah, that’s an easy fix.’ Just the hustle part — that right there makes up for a lot of stuff.”

The Bears still have that belief they can improve quickly. And they don’t have to look far for inspiration.

“Look at our offense,” defensive tackle Justin Jones said. “At the beginning of the year it wasn’t going their way. Now they’re ballin’. That’s an example … when it looks ugly, keep pushing, keep pushing and keep believing. Just like it swings one way, it’s going to swing the other way at some point. You just have to keep going.”

Read More

Velus Jones played his way off the Bears’ active roster for Sunday’s game against the Dolphins. That’s alarming news for the franchise and for the 25-year-old rookie, though head coach Matt Eberflus would argue the former.

“We’re doing what’s best for us,” he said Wednesday.

In the short term, perhaps. Jones fumbled fourth-quarter punts on back-to-back games last month and has been used all-too-sparingly on offense. The arrival of Chase Claypool via trade and pending return of Byron Pringle from injured reserve has pushed Jones further down the offensive depth chart.

Benching their third-round pick Sunday against the Dolphins, though, was antithetical to what should be the Bears’ only goal this season: to find players who will be on their next good team.

Eberflus said those opportunities are afforded during practice–and not games.

“Certainly, we look at that and we understand that,” Eberflus said. “But we do that more in practice. For the game, we’re going to put the best guys up for the game to win that game.”

Jones acknowledged there were two ways he could take being a healthy scratch.

“You can let it take you down a dark place and stuff like that mentally, or you can use it as motivation to get you better,” he said. “I’ve been using it for motivation …

“Being the competitor that I am, it just showed me that I gotta improve, I gotta do more, put in more work to get where I want to be.”

Eberflus cited special teams needs when explaining why he sat Jones. He lost his punt return job after fumbling against the Giants and Commanders, and had only precious few chances on kick returns. He’s returned six kickoffs this season and taken touchbacks 16 times.

The night the Bears used their third-round draft pick on Jones, general manager Ryan Poles detailed the growth of Tyreek Hill when the two were in Kansas City. Hill led the NFL in punt return yards, punt return touchdowns and kick return touchdowns as a rookie. It wasn’t until his second year, though, that he became one of the league’s best receivers.

“I’m not comparing [Jones] to Tyreek,” Poles said in late April. “But I just remember that transformation.”

The Bears are still waiting to see it. Jones has been a little-used gadget player on offense. He’s run 12 pass routes all season, catching three balls for 24 yards and dropping the fourth, a 50-yard pass at the front right pylon against the Cowboys. He’s run three times for 41 yards.

Jones said he has to improve “everything” about his game.

“That’s why I run extra routes after practice,” he said. “Focus, looking every ball in. With special teams, being on the [pitching] machine, doing everything I can to get better.”

Adding Claypool and eventually promoting Pringle off IR makes finding playing time tougher, though it’s fair to wonder where Equanimeous St. Brown stands after dropping a sure first down on fourth-and-10 toward the end of Sunday’s game. St. Brown has only 11 catches for 164 yards this season. The Bears value run-blocking, though, and Pro Football Focus considers him fifth-best in the league at it.

Will he be on the Bears’ next good team, though?

Will Jones?

“Obviously the room’s a little bit fuller now because we’ve got guys back –and with additions of certain players, you’re just in there competing … ” Eberflus said. “Do you know your job? Do you know your motions? Do you know how to block the point when we’re running the ball on the perimeter and hustle on the back side?

“But then it comes down to being a playmaker. That position to me is a game-changer, play-making position. And there’s a lot of competition in there right now, which is good for us.”

Read More

Justin Fields is still a long way from rounding out his game and climbing into the top tier of quarterbacks, and one of his greatest advantages in that pursuit is that he knows it’ll take a lot more work.

Fields doesn’t have to be a classic pocket quarterback, but he needs that ability in his repertoire because he’ll see some defenses capable of keeping him there. He needs as many avenues to flourish as possible. He’s clearly a dynamo as a runner, but the fully developed version of his style would include more production as a passer.

“Just keep growing, especially in the passing game,” Fields said Wednesday when asked where he hopes to go from here. “Pocket presence, getting to the check down faster — that’s one thing I can grow at now and just keep developing, keep growing. [I want] to get little completions and really just drive the ball down the field.”

He doesn’t want to be a runner or a thrower. He wants to be both, and his history suggests that’s possible. Fields averaged 244.2 yards passing over his final two seasons at Ohio State and got just 13.9% of his offensive yardage by rushing.

He is overly reliant on running this season, with 31.3% of his yards coming that way. Somewhere around 20-25% likely is the most viable formula.

Fields can always fall back on his elite speed and perceptive shifts as a runner, but the other top running quarterbacks like Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen win with balanced performances.

When Fields set the NFL regular-season record for quarterbacks with 178 yards in the loss to the Dolphins on Sunday, he completed 17 of 28 passes for just 123 yards, though he did connect on three touchdown passes and finished with a 106.7 passer rating.

For someone at his stage, it’s indisputable progress. And with the added context of him passing efficiently over his last five games, it’s a strong signal that he’s still on his way up.

“He’s uber-smart and is running the offense well,” coach Matt Eberflus said. “He’s getting more comfortable, so that’s what we’re most excited about.”

But he can get even better.

Jackson, for example, has 14 100-yard rushing games in his career, including the playoffs. In those games, however, he also averaged 219.9 yards passing. That’s an overwhelming combination, and the Ravens went 12-2 in those games.

As Fields looks to take another step in that direction, this week is an ideal opportunity. The Lions, as usual, are bad at everything.

Nobody gives up more points, and few teams are worse in pass defense. Carson Wentz feasted on them for 337 yards and three touchdowns.

Jalen Hurts, a dual-threat quarterback like Fields, threw for 243 yards and ran for 90. That would be a good place to set the bar for Fields on Sunday.

Fields’ only game against the Lions was early last season when he made his second career start. He wasn’t great — 209 yards passing, nine rushing and an interception — but it was enough for the Bears to hand him the job permanently rather than wait for Andy Dalton.

Those were dark days for the Bears, as it was obvious in real time that former coach Matt Nagy didn’t understand what he had in Fields. The goal always seemed to be to coach running out of his game, using it only as a last resort. As if it isn’t hard enough for a rookie quarterback to adapt, Fields faced the added hindrance of the staff trying to change him.

He has come a long way since. Fields is 19 starts in, playing in an intuitive offense and every week there’s evidence of how much he is learning.

“The more you play, the more you see defenses and the more you get used to just seeing different looks,” Fields said. “I’m growing each and every day.”

Read More