(Audacy) Even when former Bears coach Matt Nagy wasn’t obligated to defend Justin Fields, he continued to go to bat for the young quarterback.
Nagy was fired by the Bears in January after the team went 6-11. The 2021 season saw the Bears shuffling through a trio of quarterbacks in Andy Dalton, Nick Foles and then-rookie Fields, the latter of whom is Chicago’s long-term option under center.
But for all the inspiring moments Fields had in 2021, there were also plenty of struggles and inconsistencies, and the Bears' situation under center was a constant topic of discussion.
Now, it’s that’s new Bears coach Matt Eberflus’ problem to figure out. But during an appearance Tuesday on the "Rich Eisen Show", Kyle Brandt, who co-hosts “Good Morning Football,” shared details of a text exchange he had with Nagy after the coach was fired.
“Candidly, after he was released, I had a text exchange with Matt Nagy, after he was let go," Brandt said. "And I thought he was really cool and I thought he was really magnanimous, and he just said ‘Someday maybe you and I can talk about this, but I can tell you this: Justin Fields has it. He has everything. He is the real deal, they got the right guy, he will be a star in this league.’ And went on to explain some things about why it didn’t work out.
“This is a private text. He could’ve easily said that guy is a fraud, he should’ve stayed in college. He loves him, loves him. And (Nagy) had nothing to gain from that.”
The Bears’ issues run far deeper than Fields, but the 2022 campaign figures to go a long way toward deciding if there's long-term comfort in his ability or if it will be back to the drawing board for 2023.
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