Cutler rooting for Fields ahead of second season: 'He's the next big thing here'

Former Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler is rooting for Justin Fields to buck the trend of inconsistent play at the position ahead of his second season.

"I hope Justin is successful, and I hope he's the next big thing here and he's the best quarterback to come out of Chicago Bears history," Cutler said, according to Jason Lieser of the Chicago Sun-Times.

Fields endured an uneven league debut after sitting behind Andy Dalton to start the season. He ultimately played in 12 games and started 10, passing for 1,870 yards, seven touchdowns, and 10 interceptions with a 58.9 completion percentage. He also rushed for 420 yards and two scores.

Cutler, who was with the Bears from 2009-2016, played under three head coaches and six offensive coordinators during his Chicago tenure. The former Pro Bowl passer is pulling for Fields to avoid similar circumstances during his time with the franchise.

"It's hard for a quarterback," Cutler said. "You look across the league, and the guys that are really good at quarterback have the same coaches and same systems each year."

The former Bears star compared learning a new offense to attempting to translate a different language.

Fields will play under his second coach in as many campaigns after Chicago parted with general manager Ryan Pace and bench boss Matt Nagy. The Bears replaced Nagy with Matt Eberflus, who then entrusted the development of the club's franchise signal-caller to offensive coordinator Luke Getsy.

The 11th overall selection in the 2021 NFL Draft has displayed progression from his rookie season into his first offseason as a pro.

Chicago is optimistic that a supporting cast including David Montgomery and Darnell Mooney, as well as offseason additions Byron Pringle and Equanimeous St. Brown, will help Fields make a leap during his second year.