The Chicago Bears and the Cleveland Browns will wrap up their respective preseasons with a week three matchup in Cleveland. For the Bears, it is the start of a new regime as first-year head coach Matt Eberflus takes over for a team looking to get back to the playoffs for the first time since 2020. The Cleveland Browns have had an offseason full of turmoil as the team parted with former #1 overall draft pick Baker Mayfield and brought in DeShawn Watson in a trade with the Texans. Watson has since been suspended for the first 11 games of the season, leaving the Browns to rely on veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett for more than half the season. Strap in as the NFL has its final weekend of dress rehearsal as teams get set to cut their rosters to 53 players next week. The opening kickoff in Cleveland is set for 7pm EST.
The Bears are getting ready for what they hope will be a season to remember in year 2 of the Justin Fields era as the team's #1 quarterback. Fields has only seen limited action thus far this preseason and it will be interesting to see how much work he gets in this spot with two weeks to go before the regular season begins. In week two of the preseason, Fields was on the field for one drive and led the Bears offense to a field goal.
“I thought operation was good, his preparation was great. He handled the offense the way we wanted him to,” first-year Chicago coach Matt Eberflus said of Fields. “Had a nice drive and scored the field goal. So I think it’s progress.”
In all, Fields went 5-for-7 for 39 yards to lead the Bears to a score. The second year quarterback showed confidence when talking about his performance after the game.
“ ;I feel like every time I step on the field I can get something out of it,” Fields said.
Chicago has a solid backup quarterback this season in the well traveled Trevor Siemian. Siemian threw a touchdown in the week two blowout win over Seattle, helping the Bears improve to 2-0 on the preseason.
Behind closed doors, the work don't stop ??
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) August 25, 2022
The Bears got some good news at the end of last week when it was announced that linebacker Roquan Smith ended his holdout and planned to play out the final year of his rookie deal. Smith had demanded a trade earlier in camp but the two sides seem to have resolved the issues and the 25-year old is back in camp and ready to go. While he will unlikely see any action on Saturday, Smith's return immediately strengthens the Bears defense, even if the holdout likely diminishes the likelihood of Smith signing a long-term deal with Chicago.
“I thought it was very distasteful, to say the least,” Smith said of contract talks between himself and the Bears. “Wasn't what I anticipated, nor … what I expected from the situation, but I'm grateful for the fans, all the loyal fans and everyone, the players as well in the locker room and the city of Chicago that stood behind me throughout this process. It means a lot to myself.
“But now, I'm just shifting my focus to the season and more so just focused on being the best teammate I can be to those guys in the locker room.”