Andy Dalton has another chance this season to be the Bears’ starting quarterback as Justin Fields sidelined Thursday’s game against the Lions due to a rib injury.
In Sunday’s Bears vs. the Ravens, Fields took a hit in the ribs and let the rest of the game into the third quarter. The fields were further assessed after the game and on Monday. It was determined that Truong did not have a broken rib but was bruised. He was also assessed for possible spleen injury.
Dalton started the first two games of the season, but lost his starting role after a months-long debate over who should become the QB1 Bears. Dalton went into Thanksgiving trying to end the Bears’ five-game losing streak.
Here’s what you need to know about Justin Fields’ injury.
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Why doesn’t Justin Fields start today?
Four days of rotation was not enough time for Fields to recover from a rib injury to play in Thursday’s game against the Lions. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Monday that Andy Dalton will be the starter for the Thanksgiving game. Dalton joins Fields in the Ravens game, and he immediately throws a pass that hits the ground. However, the Bears still lost 16-13 to Raven.
Head coach Matt Nagy spoke of Fields’ injury, which he believes is only to his ribs, on Monday morning. At the time, he did not tell the media who would start on Thursday.
“He’s a tough guy, so when you go through these things, our coach Andre (Tucker) has to be able to gauge where he is,” Nagy said, via the Chicago Tribune. “With this being the rib, we just need to be able to assess, OK, the pain and simplicity of breathing and sleeping – things that we take for granted – to throw a football.”
Nagy added that the Bears will “protect [Fields] from himself” by not giving him a chance to make his injury worse on Thursday.
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Justin Fields injury update
Bears QB was evaluated after the game on Sunday and then underwent tests on Monday to determine the severity of his rib injury. Fields announced on his friend’s Instagram page that he didn’t break his ribs, but they were bruised.
The results from his tests have yet to be made available to the public. Fields also said he will be checked for a spleen injury.
THAN: Justin Fields injury update
When will Justin Fields return?
There is no specific timeline on when Fields will return to where QB started.
However, if what Nagy said about four days is too fast for Fields’ rotation, then 10 days of rest for the Bears after Thursday’s game could be just what Fields need to get back on track. It all depends on the severity of his injury once the test results come back.
