The Chicago Bears continue to stick to their pre-draft QB plan, with Andy Dalton as the starter and first-round rookie Justin Fields waiting in the wings as a backup heading toward training camp.
While much of Chicago might scoff at that "plan," Fields is comfortable with the organizational blueprint. The young QB's only focus right now is improving each day.
"I mean, if I don't believe in it, then it's not gonna work out, so my job is strictly to get better, be the best quarterback I can be and, you know, help my team win," he said Thursday. "So that's what I'm going to do whether it's starting, whether it's sitting, I'm going to do whatever is the best that's gonna help us win."
Fields isn't fretting that he wasn't named the starter this early in the process.
"I feel like there's no reason not to embrace it," Fields said. "I think there's a lot of people who would want to be in my shoes right now, so I'm just grateful for the position that I'm in, and I'm just going to, again, take it day by day, be the best quarterback I can be."
The rookie said he's grateful to learn under Dalton and Nick Foles through minicamp and looking forward to similar aid in training camp next month. Fields added that Dalton has been a mentor throughout the process.
"Yeah, I've learned a lot of things," he said. "He's talked to me a lot, I actually went to dinner with him and his wife. We talked a lot there, kinda just his background, their story. Andy and Nick, they've been awesome. Probably bigger than you guys would even know. Andy's completely taken me under his wing. Any questions I have for him, he's going to answer. Even when I'm throwing. I think there was one day after OTAs, I was throwing extra after practice and he stayed out there specifically just to see maybe what I was doing wrong and he was just trying to help me out. He's been a huge help for sure."
Nagy has insisted the Bears' plan is to open the season with Dalton as the starter. That plan comes with the unspoken caveat that it can be blown up at any moment. If Fields shines in training camp and proves he's the best option in preseason games, he could force Nagy to scrap that "plan" before the season starts.
Fields noted that he understands Bears fans wanting to see him start right away, but the rookie is biding his time.
"I mean, of course, I feel (the pressure)," he said. "You know, great things don't happen all at once. I'm just going to be patient. Like I said earlier, I've been in a situation where I've had to learn behind a guy, so this is nothing new for me. I'm just gonna take it day by day and get better each and every day. I'm going to trust coach Nagy and the whole coaching staff here to develop me and make me the best quarterback I can be."
If Fields lives up to the hype long-term, Bears fans will forget when he was officially named the starting QB.