Bears vs. Jets: Fields out, Siemian hurt; Peterman to start as QB
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Justin Fields will sit out the Chicago Bears' game Sunday against the New York Jets, and Nathan Peterman will start at quarterback after backup Trevor Siemian was injured in warmups.
With Siemian set to start, the Bears announced about an hour before kickoff he injured his oblique and would be replaced by Peterman.
Siemian will serve as the backup, but Peterman is now Chicago's only healthy active 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.
Peterman was promoted Saturday from the practice squad to serve as the backup to Siemian, but will now find himself under center against the Jets.
The 28-year-old Peterman will make his first start since 2018, when he was with Buffalo. He was 31 of 49 for 188 yards and no touchdowns with three interceptions in the Bills' 41-9 loss to Peterman's current team.
Peterman last played in a regular-season game last season for Las Vegas, but didn't throw a pass in mop-up duty in the Raiders' 20-9 loss to the Bears in Week 5. His last regular-season pass came in Week 12 of the 2020 season for the Raiders.
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.