Justin Fields studying Bears playbook on vacation like an absolute savage

Justin Fields may begin his rookie season as a backup, but even on vacation he’s going to prepare as if he’s the starter.

Despite trading up to get him in the draft, Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy has remained steadfast that rookie quarterback Justin Fields will at least start the season behind Andy Dalton on the depth chart. Nagy is leaning into his experience as Kansas City Chiefs’ offensive coordinator in 2017, when a rookie named Patrick Mahomes didn’t play until the regular season finale.

Fields is in line for plenty of run during preseason games, and if he impresses it will be hard to keep him off the field come Week 1 against the Los Angeles Rams. As expected, Fields is saying all the right things about trusting the Bears’ plan for him.

But that doesn’t mean he’s not going to be preparing diligently during the down time between now and training camp in a little over a month.

There are no days off for Justin Fields

Fields plans to (which means he will, no doubt) study the Bears’ playbook while on an upcoming vacation. Via Larry Hawley of WGN, Fields told reporters during his news conference at mandatory minicamp that he’d also be arriving two weeks early to training camp to keep working.

“Just work out, study film, meet with Coach Nagy individually on Zoom. Most likely just talk about the playbook,” said Fields. “Right now I have a base idea of what plays we have right now so just diving into that more and just focusing on the smaller details because when you have a big base of it, you can really start detailing each and every specific thing in a play and really get to know it like the back of your hand.”

Fields’ physical upside is clear, but rookie quarterbacks have to get a grasp on the mental side to succeed immediately. If (or when) Fields sees the field this year, he’ll be as prepared as he can be.