Chicago Bears (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
Last week, the Chicago Bears were down to third string quarterback Nick Foles in a road matchup with the Seattle Seahawks. Fortunately, Foles and the offense were able to survive — albeit, barely — in a thrilling victory.
Both Justin Fields (ankle) and Andy Dalton (groin) were out, forcing Foles into action. In the first quarter against Seattle, the Bears also lost another key player.
Offensive tackle Teven Jenkins exited the game with a shoulder injury, leaving his (and Fields’) status for this weekend’s game in question. But, on Wednesday the Bears got some good news.
Both quarterbacks, Fields and Dalton, reportedly returned to practice, along with Jenkins. In their final two games of the season, the Bears need all the bodies they can get to help the front office with some decisions going into the offseason.
#Bears coach Matt Nagy says Justin Fields (ankle) and Andy Dalton (groin) will practice today. Not certain how much they will be able to do. Says both are improving.
— Brad Biggs (@BradBiggs) December 29, 2021
Getting Justin Fields and Teven Jenkins back is a huge positive for the Chicago Bears, but probably won’t affect Matt Nagy.
With Fields and Jenkins likely in line to play against the New York Giants in Week 17, that means the Bears have a much higher likelihood of coming away with a victory. The Giants are bad, regardless, but getting their dynamic starting quarterback on the field again will only further cement a victory (hopefully).
Being able to evaluate Jenkins for a couple more games will allow the Bears to, ideally, feel positive about their tackle position going into the offseason as well. With Jenkins and fellow rookie Larry Borom having their bright spots this year, it definitely looks like the Bears could roll with those two as their starters going into the future.
Having their tackle spots locked down and a surefire franchise quarterback is something many teams would kill to have. The only problem, now, is in the coaching department.
It likely doesn’t matter how well Fields (or anyone else) plays in these final two games. Matt Nagy should be as good as gone. Even with a somewhat scary report coming out a couple of days ago, referring to ownership looking at Nagy’s entire body of work, he should still be fired.
The Bears’ final two games of the season will do nothing to help a playoff push, unlike last season. Therefore, it’s all about pride. It’s all about feeling better about going into next season. Nagy’s job cannot be helped with their final two games, even if Fields lights it up.
For now, fans can simply be thankful that both their star quarterback and future franchise tackle are back at practice and are trending towards playing on Sunday.
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