Bears' Fields out vs. Jets, Siemian to start at QB

Sun, Nov 27, 2022
Other News (AP)

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) - Justin Fields will sit out the Chicago Bears' game Sunday against the New York Jets, with Trevor Siemian stepping in as the starting quarterback.

Fields, who is having a productive second NFL season, injured his left - non-throwing - shoulder in Chicago's 27-24 loss to Atlanta last Sunday. He was listed as questionable on the team's final injury report Friday. Fields made the trip with the team to New York and threw lightly on the field at MetLife Stadium, but Chicago officially listed him as inactive 90 minutes before kickoff.

Fields said earlier this week his injury is a shoulder separation with ligament damage within the AC joint. While the injury is to his non-throwing shoulder, he was experiencing some pain in that shoulder on his follow-through when he threw.

Entering this week, Fields ranked fifth in the NFL in rushing with 834 yards to lead all quarterbacks. He has run for seven touchdowns this season, including six in the past five games.

He also joined Arizona's Kyler Murray as the only QBs in the Super Bowl era with both a passing and rushing touchdown in five straight games.

But it will be the 30-year-old Siemian making the start for the Bears, who also promoted Nathan Peterman from the practice squad Saturday to serve as the backup.

Siemian last started in Week 11 last season, a loss to Buffalo while he was with New Orleans. He'll face another of his former teams Sunday. He started one game for the Jets in 2019, but injured an ankle early and missed the rest of the season.

Chicago is also without two starters on defense with cornerback Kyler Gordon and safety Jaquan Brisker out with concussions.

The Bears-Jets matchup already had lost some of its luster before Fields was ruled out. New York benched Zach Wilson, the No. 2 overall pick in last year's draft, this week in favor of Mike White. Wilson has struggled mightily in his second season while Fields - selected nine picks after him - has developed into one of the league's most exciting quarterbacks.

Wilson was listed as inactive for the game, with Joe Flacco serving as White's backup.

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