Justin Fields cleared to return to practice for Bears, but unclear if he'll play vs. Jets
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Bears quarterback Justin Fields has been cleared to practice after suffering an injury to his non-throwing shoulder in Sunday's loss to the Falcons, but no decision has been made yet whether he'll start on Sunday against the Jets.
Fields, who was in visible pain at the end of the game in Atlanta, said Wednesday that he suffered a separated left shoulder and partial torn ligament, but might be able to play through the injury when the Bears visit the Jets at Metlife Stadium on Sunday.
The Bears medical staff cleared him to return to practice at Halas Hall on Wednesday, but head coach Matt Eberflus said Wednesday's session would only be a walkthrough, and Fields would be considered a limited participant.
Eberflus said Fields remains "day-to-day" due to the injury, and confirmed the quarterback would not need to go on injured reserve, but wouldn't commit to either starting Fields or keeping him on the sidelines against the Jets.
"We'll assess that as we go through the week. He's feeling pretty good, and we'll see where it goes from there day-to-day," Eberflus said.
Fields said the team's medical staff has been putting him through various tests to check his strength and range of motion.
"It's just some movements that I do with my arm, it hurts it a good bit," Fields said. "Just trying to work through those motions, and kind of get my arm used to moving in those particular motions that hurt it, so it's used to moving that way, and it gets the muscle stronger."
Fields said he wouldn't have been able to play if the team had a game on Wednesday, because he's still feeling a high level of pain, and still has somewhat limited movement in his left shoulder.
"Good thing we don't play today. We play, what, in four days? So we'll see how it feels in four days," Fields said.
Fields said, as long as he feels he can protect himself on Sunday, and isn't risking a more significant injury, that will be good enough for him to play.
While the Jets' defense leads the NFL in quarterback hits with 81, and ranks 4th in the league in sacks with 32, Eberflus said that won't be a factor in deciding whether or not to start Fields.
"If he's ready, he's ready, and that's not going to factor into it," he said.
However, Eberflus acknowledged, if Fields is still limited on Sunday, or it's deemed likely he'd aggravate his injured shoulder by playing, the Bears would not risk getting him hurt even worse.
"If we ever feel that a player is going to go out there and harm himself, obviously we're going to err on the side of caution, for sure," he said. "We're not going to put a guy out there in harm's way, and he doesn't feel good about it, for sure. So we want to do what's best for the organization, but also best for the player."
Meantime, Eberflus announced center Lucas Patrick will miss the rest of the season, after undergoing surgery for his injured toe a couple weeks ago. Patrick left the Bears' Week 7 win over the Patriots and was later placed on injured reserve, which meant he would have to sit for at least four games, and would have been eligible to return this week against the Jets, but Eberflus said he won't be back this year.
Patrick suffered a broken finger during training camp and started off the season as a backup guard, before shifting back to center against the Patriots.