Former Bears teammate counters idea that Justin Fields is toxic

When the Chicago Bears drafted Justin Fields with the No. 11 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, the hope was that he would develop into the team's first true franchise quarterback since Sid Luckman. Things didn't exactly pan out how they had hoped, however. Fields compiled a woeful 10-28 record as a starter during his three years in Chicago.

This offseason, the Bears made the decision to trade Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers for pennies on the dollar. While Fields didn't find much success on the field, he became loved among the fanbase and by his teammates in the locker room. After he was traded, new reports about Fields' time in Chicago began to draw concerns about his character.

In 2020, the Bears brought in veteran quarterbacks Andy Dalton and Nick Foles to help develop the rookie quarterback. Former Bears director of player personnel Josh Lucas alluded to tension in the quarterback room, and one reporter claimed Fields’ relationship with Foles was “toxic as hell.”

Bears CB Jaylon Johnson defends Justin Fields character and poor play

Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson, who was a supporter of Fields, defended his former quarterback during an interview on "The Rich Eisen Show."

“It was an unfortunate three years just having so many moving pieces around him,” Johnson said. “Not having too much stability. Not having too many actual weapons. To me, it was unfortunate. Him departing, it wasn’t a surprise, but I definitely felt like it was unfortunate. ... Overall, I thought he gave his heart to the team. He gave his heart to Chicago. There was never anything short of his full effort. Just for me, definitely love and respect Justin as a human and a quarterback. But I think he was just in an unfortunate situation when he came in."

The decision to trade away Fields was made easier by the availability of USC quarterback Caleb Williams, who Chicago selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Johnson was skeptical of the rookie quarterback before the draft, and he even warned Williams not to bring "that Hollywood stuff" to Chicago. The cornerback's opinions on his new quarterback seem to have changed since the team got together for mandatory minicamp.

Johnson seems to believe that Fields could thrive in Pittsburgh. When asked by Eisen what the Steelers should expect from Fields, Johnson immediately mentioned the quarterback's playmaking ability.

"Don’t blink," Johnson said. "Don’t blink because there’s been plenty of times I’m like, ‘Here we go again. We're getting sacked again on third down.’ [I] put my helmet on and he’s running down the sideline ... He’s going to make some plays happen, with his feet and his arm, he's going to make things happen. When you think he's sacked or going down or something looks bad, just wait. He'll have his time to work his magic, so definitely don't blink when Justin's out there with the ball."