Should you drop Justin Fields in your fantasy football leagues?

The Chicago Bears are back in a disaster scenario this season after expectations were for a turnaround in 2023. It appears that the Bears haven’t found a future QB in Justin Fields, who has struggled in the passing game through three games. It’s not entirely his fault as the team refuses to adjust its game plan to Fields’ strengths. That doesn’t matter for fantasy football purposes because if you spent a high draft pick on Fields, you need production. We’ll go over whether or not its time to cut the cord with Fields in fantasy and explore other options.

Fantasy football outlook: Bears QB Justin Fields

Through three games, Fields has 526 passing yards (175 per game), three TDs, four INTs, 13 sacks, a completion percentage of 58, a 67.7 QB rating and just 109 rushing yards with one TD. Fields has about 44 fantasy points in that span, behind QBs such as Baker Mayfield, Jimmy G, Mac Jones and Russell Wilson to name a few.

Say what you want about Fields’ passing acumen. It likely isn’t and never will be at an NFL starting level. But the Bears’ system is severely flawed and not helping Fields at all. We saw the rushing upside last season and Chicago hasn’t put Fields in a position to use that talent. There’s a chance the Bears figure this out a little bit. There’s also a chance they finish last again and just opt to bring in Caleb Williams with the top pick. If that realization happens now or soon, Fields could be irrelevant in fantasy. Or he could be traded, which may not be bad.

Verdict

It’s tough to trust Fields in fantasy football. With that said, the Bears do face a Broncos team that just allowed 70 points to the Dolphins in Week 3. While Fields is probably worth benching or dropping, it’s not a bad idea to wait and see what happens in Week 4. If things don’t go well this week, it’s worth exploring a replacement option. I don’t know how comfortable I feel dropping Fields completely, at least not going into Week 4. If things don’t improve and the Bears are heading toward a tank AND you have a capable starting QB replacement, go ahead and cut ties with Fields. Right now, it feels like stand pat and wait another week, but also explore some options on the waiver wire now if you don’t have a good backup QB.

Possible replacements

Cardinals QB Joshua Dobbs isn’t a bad replacement option in the short-term. He likely moves back to the bench once Kyler Murray is ready to return. Though that date is unclear. Texans rookie QB CJ Stroud is still available in most leagues (or should be). If he’s out there, he makes for a solid replacement as well.