Bears Place QB Justin Fields On Reserve/COVID-19 List

CHICAGO (CBS) -- The Bears placed rookie quarterback Justin Fields on the reserve/COVID list on Thursday, making it unlikely he'll be able to start the team's final game of the season.

Fields was placed on the COVID list after testing positive for the virus, but if he has multiple negative results before Sunday's game, he'll be able to play in the season finale against the Vikings, according to NFL guidelines. If Fields can't go, you can expect to see more of Andy Dalton under center.

The announcement came just one day after head coach Matt Nagy had announced Fields would start on Sunday against Minnesota.

Fields had missed the previous two games due to an ankle injury, but was declared ready to return to the field.

CBS 2's Marshall Harris reported that Fields could test off the list and be back under center, but that is looking unlikely three days before the Bears take on the Vikings on Sunday.

That means it could be a new-look beardless Andy Dalton, or Nick Foles, starting at quarterback in the season finale. But rolling with a different quarterback on a week-to-week basis is nothing new for this team.

"Obviously, the last couple of weeks have shown – we've started three different quarterbacks this year, and we've got guys who can go in and win games, and I think there's a great level of confidence with Andy in there," said Bears offensive coordinator Bill Lazor.

Fields began the season as the backup to Dalton, but eventually took over the starting role. In 12 games (10 starts), Fields completed 159 of 270 passes (58.9 percent) for 1,870 yards (6.9 per attempt), seven touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. He added 420 yards and two more scores on his 72 rush attempts.

It often seemed as though the Bears were running an offense that was not conducive to Fields' skill set. The offensive line in front of him was poor, and his receiver corps was thin and injured throughout the year. Fields did contribute to his own inefficiency by holding onto the ball for too long and taking far too many sacks (11.8 percent of dropbacks), but he was not put in position to succeed by the coaching staff or the roster.

The Bears traded their 2022 first-round pick to the New York Giants in the deal to move up and acquire Fields, but they desperately need to surround him with both more talent and a better staff that will design an offense around his talents.