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Causes for concern heading into 2022 season

Causes for concern heading into 2022 season

Heading into training camp, there are several causes for concern facing the Chicago Bears. Though there are reasons to be optimistic about the future, there aren’t many who have confidence in the Bears this season as they kickstart their rebuild under Ryan Poles.

Despite a total tear down of the front office and coaching staff, there’s a lot of work to be done to get Chicago back to playing “Bears football.” With a team that looks plenty thin on paper, many players need to step up to eliminate some of the growing concerns ahead of the 2022 season.

Here are some causes for concern as the Bears prepare for training camp:

1
Justin Fields’ disappointing rookie outing

AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar

No, a lot shouldn’t be made out of a rookie season for a quarterback, as we’ve seen many take a huge leap from their first season to their second. A couple of recent examples would be Buffalo’s Josh Allen and Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson.

Justin Fields did have the worst quarterback rating (26.4) among all 31 qualified passers. He also was the first Bears quarterback to start six or more game and have more interceptions than touchdowns since Matt Barkley in 2016.

Despite struggling last season, the Bears will be continuing to build their offense around Fields. There’s cause for concern though, seeing as there weren’t many improvements on offense to help the second-year quarterback in terms of wide receiver and offensive line.

2
The offensive line struggles

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

The Bears had an awful offensive line last season, giving up 58 sacks in 17 games. Their worst game was Fields’ first NFL start, where he was sacked nine times. He was under pressure the entire game, completing just 30 percent of his passes.

Yes, Chicago did draft some offensive linemen and try to improve things this offseason. Still, all of their problems won’t be solved in one offseason. It’s going to take at least another year or two before they have a solid offensive line.

If Fields is playing the majority of the season under pressure again, the passing game is going to be horrendous again. With the offensive line the Bears had last season, Chicago’s quarterbacks managed just 16 passing touchdowns in 17 games.

3
The loss of Khalil Mack

AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez

The Bears trading Khalil Mack…

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