Keyshawn Johnson on Justin Fields: ‘Surround him with some playmakers’

Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields has been a lightning rod for debate ever since the Bears backed into the first pick of the 2023 NFL Draft. Calls for Chicago to move on from Fields and select Bryce Young started almost immediately, and Fields’ future with the Bears has been unstable ever since.

Fields’ unsettled outlook is partly his fault. His play has been inconsistent. Sometimes, he looks like he can be a legitimate MVP candidate. At other times, he makes plays generally reserved for backup quarterbacks.

The reason for Fields’ struggles is a hot-button topic on social media. Bears Twitter points fingers equally at Fields, the coaching staff, and, until this season, an underwhelming supporting cast.

Bears fans have to buckle their chinstrap anytime they log on to Twitter these days, and it’s only going to get worse (or more fun?) if Chicago lands the No. 1 pick again (via the Carolina Panthers).

If the Bears end the 2023 season on the clock in the 2024 NFL Draft, quarterback prospects Caleb Williams and Drake Maye will enter the chat. It’ll be like flicking a match into a flood of gasoline.

There will be logical points in every corner of the discourse, like the ones former NFL wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson made in a recent episode of Undisupted.

“Here’s a quarterback that has had multiple offensive coordinators and head coaches in a three-year span,” Johnson said. “This is really his second year … Now, all of a sudden he gets a chance to start. First-time head coach, first-time offensive coordinator. In his second year in the situation, he doesn’t have any real wide receivers. DJ Moore is the only guy.

“What has he done so egregious with all the different stuff that’s going on in Chicago that you want to move on from him in Year 2?”

These are all fair points, but when you see a rookie like CJ Stroud tearing up the NFL in his first season, perhaps expectations for a first-round quarterback should be slightly higher.

Johnson had a thought on that, too.

“When you start to think about these young quarterbacks, because I continue to try to educate people to understand, situations and circumstances are important with young quarterbacks. And until you get something and put them around that that will make them successful, you are always gonna scratch your head,” Johnson said.

Complicating this whole Justin Fields situation is the thumb injury that forced him out of four games this year. He’s only started eight games and is 2-6 in that stretch. Not great. But, if we’re being fair, he played well enough for the Bears to beat the Broncos and Lions, which would give him a 4-4 record, a marked improvement over 2022.

So, what would Johnson do if he was in Ryan Poles” shoes, and the Chicago Bears ended the year with the first pick in the 2024 NFL Draft? He’d select Marvin Harrison Jr. and run it back with Justin Fields.

“I probably would because I think I got my quarterback,” Johnson said of his decision to pick Harrison and stick with Fields. “Now I need to surround him with some playmakers.”

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