Bears Quarterback to Miss Week 12

The Chicago Bears will have a potential quarterback catastrophe when they face off against the New York Jets later today. Starting quarterback Justin Fields is officially inactive for the Week 12 matchup.

Inactives for #CHIvsNYJ: pic.twitter.com/3kRps14DQs
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) November 27, 2022

Fields had been limited in practice all week due to a shoulder injury suffered in the Bears' 27-24 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. Top backup Trevor Siemian injured his oblique during warmups, so third-string quarterback Nathan Peterman is poised to start with no clear option to back him up.

Already at 3-8, the Bears are all but certain to see the dying embers of their postseason hopes fade away this afternoon against the 6-4 Jets. Peterman is 1-3 in his only career starts, and he sports a positively laughable 3/12 touchdown to interception ratio on his 135 passes. His 8.9% career interception rate is more than quadruple this year's league average rate of 2.2%.

On the brink of another lost season, Bears fans will have to comfort themselves with the development Fields has shown as a franchise quarterback. The second-year passer has emerged as a thrilling runner and passer out of the backfield, lifting the Bears to the league's top-ranked rushing attack in both total yards and yards per attempt.

UPDATE: Trevor Siemian was able to start for the Bears.