Is Justin Fields Healthy or Injured? Fantasy Football Injury Update

Chicago quarterback Justin Fields took a beating Thursday night in the Bears’ 12-7 loss to the Washington Commanders. As we head into Week 7, the real question is: Did Fields sustain an injury in the Week 6 loss?

Let's break down the injury reports and take a look at Fields' outlook for Week 7.

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Was Justin Fields Injured Against the Commanders?

Fields was sacked five times and hit 12 times. After a few of those hits, he stayed down on the ground and took his time getting up. It looked bad to viewers at home, and it felt bad for Fields too.

After the game, the second-year quarterback said his shoulder was in pain. "I'm hurting. Hurting pretty good. Got a long weekend, so I'll have some extra time to heal up,” he said.

Fields didn’t show up on the injury report, but apparently, he suffered a minor injury to his shoulder earlier this season and aggravated it. Given how he’s been under pressure on half of his dropbacks this season, it’s no surprise he’s getting bruised.

Justin Fields' 2022 Fantasy Football Performance

Fields has greatly disappointed those who had hoped for the breakout season of the physically talented dual-threat quarterback. He has only thrown for over 200 yards once in six games, and he has completed fewer than half of his passing attempts in two games. He has finished as a QB1 only once—Week 5—and he has finished outside of the top-24 QBs three times.

He is making a lot of mistakes on his own. He has the worst PFF grade of anyone with at least 100 passing attempts, the second-worst completion percentage, the second-worst adjusted completion percentage, and the sixth-highest rate of turnover-worthy throws. But it doesn’t help when his offensive line allows him to be pressured more than any other QB in the league, his receivers struggle to get open or hang onto passes, and his team shuts down in the red zone. The Bears' abysmal offensive output has been a joint effort.

Yet, if you squint hard enough, you can see Fields making statistical progress in his past three games, and he might become playable as a fantasy QB.

*Average QB19 finish through Weeks 4 and 5

Will Justin Fields Miss Time?

The Bears go to Foxborough for a showdown with the Patriots on Monday Night Football in Week 7, so Fields has some extra time to rest. Since Fields’ shoulder injury occurred prior to Week 6 and didn’t cause him to miss any time, it must not be serious.

Nor should there be much concern that the minor injury will impact his performance. He has been playing better in the past three games, so it has not hurt him so far. If he keeps getting knocked around, his shoulder pain could persist all season. Nagging injuries are a fact of life the further one gets into the football season.

A larger concern is that eventually, Fields might suffer a much more severe injury if he takes a beating like this every week. It’s his second year and he’s had a poor-quality receiving corps and offensive line. He’s been sacked more than anyone in his draft class despite having started fewer games than most of them. Justin Fields might not be the answer in Chicago, but we may never know if he’s not given a fair chance.

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