Chicago Bears: Mike Ditka weighs in on who should be Week 1 starter

The Chicago Bears have a very excited fanbase once again. Some fans might be a little too excited about the situation — at least in regards to the 2021 season. All it took was the team trading up in the first round for Justin Fields and again in the second round for Teven Jenkins. Now, the same fans that were metaphorically standing outside of Halas Hall with their pitchforks and torches —at least I hope no one took it as far to do this for real — are hopeful once again.

This is not to say people have forgiven Ryan Pace for the Mitch Trubisky situation. This is not to say that those who lost faith in Matt Nagy have regained it. However, the selection of Justin Fields has sparked life into this organization and fanbase again. Hopefully, Fields does not end up becoming a bust, but he is easily the most well-regarded quarterback prospect this team has seen in, well, maybe forever.

Now the big question is when Justin Fields will see the field as a starter for the Chicago Bears. Will Andy Dalton keep him from starting all season? Will Fields find a way to push for the starting spot as soon as Week 1? What about after the Bye Week? Well, Mike Ditka has thoughts on the matter and told Jeff Kerr of CBS Sports what he thought regarding when Justin Fields should start for the Chicago Bears.

Former Chicago Bears head coach Mike Ditka gives thoughts on Justin Fields

If I am being honest, I am not a big fan of Mike Ditka as a coach. He was not a bad head coach, but I find him to be very overrated — especially by many Chicago Bears fans. That said, he is still someone that many look to for opinions about football and it appears most fans would love his opinion regarding when Justin Fields should start.

Mike Ditka believes that Justin Fields should start Week 1. Ditka believes players learn from playing and not from watching. He goes on to say that Matt Nagy knows how to handle Fields and that he will do a good job with him.

As much as I would love for Fields to start Week 1 (he is the quarterback of my dynasty fantasy football team), the Chicago Bears should not rush him unless he proves to be completely ready. Andy Dalton is more than capable of running the Bears offense to start the season. Give Fields some time to learn and catch up to the speed of the game. As I keep saying, my expectations are that we will not see Fields under center (barring an injury) before Week 5.

What do you think of Mike Ditka’s comments? Plenty of great quarterbacks sat on the bench their first couple of seasons. Then again, some other great quarterbacks started immediately. We will see what happens, but the only thing that matters is the growth of Justin Fields.