There's no doubt any longer, Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields is out for Week 7.
Fields will be sidelined due to a right thumb injury and undrafted rookie Tyson Bagent will start for the Bears against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, head coach Matt Eberflus announced Friday. Eberflus added that Fields isn't expected to go on injured reserve as he continues to recover.
Fields left the Bears' Week 6 loss against the Minnesota Vikings with a dislocated right thumb and Eberflus pronounced him doubtful to play the Raiders on Monday. Eberflus underscored that there was still hope Fields could play with the decision coming later in the week.
The decision has come, and Fields is out.
Bagent, who saw his first NFL action in relief of Fields against the Vikings, will make his first start against a Raiders squad also without its starting quarterback, as Las Vegas' Jimmy Garoppolo is out with a back injury.
This will mark Fields' eighth game missed since taking over as the Bears starter in Week 3 of his 2021 rookie season. Fields looked to have found his top form when he threw a combined eight touchdowns in Weeks 4-5, but was held in check before his departure. Bagent filled in with a 10-of-14-passing performance for 83 yards, no touchdowns and an interception.
During parts of six seasons playing for Sheperd, the 23-year-old Bagent threw an NCAA-record 159 touchdowns, including seasons of 53 and 41 over his junior and senior campaigns, respectively. He put up 17,034 yards, including 5,000 and 4,580 in each of his last two years.
Playing Division II college football is a rather massive difference than the NFL ranks, of course, but Bagent is well aware of that.
"Obviously the team I'm going against Sunday is a little bit better than West Chester," Bagent said earlier this week, via The Associated Press, of the team he played a year ago at this time, tallying four total TDs in a 47-14 win. "But other than that, the other team is a little bit smarter than they were a year ago and there are quite a bit more details than there were a year ago. Other than that, you just play hard and operate in sync with the guys you've got."
Historically speaking, this could be the perfect opportunity -- and opponent --- for Bagent, though. Per NFL Research, the Raiders are 0-3 against rookie QBs since 2021. That includes losing to Fields and the Bears two years ago.
Ready or not, Bagent will lead the Bears into Week 7 with Fields on the mend.
