Silvy: Justin Fields isn’t the long-term solution Bears need at QB

This is a tryout game for Justin Fields.

Question is, is he trying out more for the Bears or the Falcons?

Is Bears general manager Ryan Poles truly still evaluating the QB, or is this more of a game where Fields’ hometown team could get a firsthand look at whether they want to trade a second-round pick this offseason for the QB?

After 36 starts for the Bears, it’s hard to rationalize that Poles doesn’t already know what he has or doesn’t have with Fields. His mind has to be made up.

Mine is.

I like Fields. I’ve always liked him. On paper, he is everything you want when you build a quarterback in a lab.

He’s an incredible athlete with a fantastic arm, has perfect size, is super smart, has a great work ethic, his teammates follow his lead, and he represents the Bears off the field like every athlete should.

Fields’ highlight reel is incredible. Dynamic splash plays galore. So, what’s the catch?

Production. And I’m not talking about Youtube clicks.

That’s where the “yeah but” crowd comes in or as my radio producer Tyler Aki calls them, the justifiers.

Fields didn’t have a good game?

– ”Yeah, but it was Luke Getsy’s fault. He’s trash.”

– ”Yeah, but it was the offensive line’s fault.”

– ”Yeah, but he needs Marvin Harrison Jr., then lookout!”

Don’t get me wrong, the Bears haven’t been kind to Fields, and some of the complaining is valid.

But as Poles likes to say with Montez Sweat, the great players are supposed to be multipliers, circumstances be damned. Has Fields done that with the Bears’ offense?

A lot of the Fields fanatics like to throw out the term “hater” if you don’t drink their Kool-aid.

Try being a Bears fan first and don’t let your fanaticism of your favorite player cloud your judgment of what is best for your team.

Ask yourself if this what you were expecting in Fields’ make-or-break, prove-it third season with the Bears?

• A quarterback rating of 84.5, down almost a full point from last year. His QBR is down almost 12 points to 44.7.

• Fields’ fourth-quarter passer rating is 50.1, putting him near the bottom of the NFL with Jameis Winston, Trevor Siemian and Bailey Zappe. His six fourth-quarter interceptions are tied for the league worst.

• Fields threw for 170 yards against the Cardinals, one of the worst defenses in the NFL, and that included only 35 yards in the second half. For context, 38-year-old Joe Flacco threw for 212 yards against the Bears in the fourth quarter alone with four backup offensive linemen. More context: Flacco has thrown for more than 300 yards in his past three games after no one in the league wanted him. Fields has thrown for 300 yards once in his career.

• Let’s add in Fields’ rushing yards. For the season, he has tallied 2,731 total yards from scrimmage with 18 TDs and nine interceptions. Which quarterback this year has similar comps to that?

No, it’s not Lamar Jackson.

Here’s one: 3,028 total yards from scrimmage with 17 TDs and nine picks.

Any guesses on who that is?

How about NFL journeyman Gardner Minshew, who by the way, has a QBR 13 points higher than Fields.

And that’s the point. Fields is way more talented than Minshew, so why isn’t he producing at a much higher level?

Now, back to Lamar Jackson. These comps to Fields have to stop.

Jackson threw for 36 touchdowns in his second season. Fields has thrown for 39 in his career.

Side note: Blake Bortles once threw for 35 TDs in a season. I repeat, Fields has 39 for his career.

The Falcons once tried a reclamation project with former first-round pick Marcus Mariota, whose first three years produced 10,389 yards from scrimmage with 67 TDs and 34 interceptions. For comparison, Fields has produced 8,406 yards from scrimmage 52 TDs and 30 picks. It didn’t work with a more productive Mariota, will they go back to the well with Fields?

I get it, you love Fields. You wanted it to work. I wanted it to work. Poles tried to make it work.

But this isn’t a hobby for the Bears GM. What he does with the No. 1 pick and at quarterback will define his legacy in Chicago.

Poles was in Kansas City when the Chiefs waived goodbye to Alex Smith for the unproven Patrick Mahomes. You may think it was an easy decision in hindsight, but remember, Smith was coming off a season where he threw for 4,042 yards 26 TDs and five interceptions in 15 games. Fields hasn’t come close to those numbers.

There is no guarantee that drafting a quarterback with the first overall pick will work out.

I have nightmares that Fields goes to the Falcons and thrives and the Bears draft a bust.

I also have nightmares that the Bears keep Fields and pass on another great QB talent that thrives elsewhere.

My only ask is that the Bears finally get it right for the first time in my life.

Is that asking too much?

• Marc Silverman shares his opinions on the Bears weekly for Shaw Local. Tune in and listen to the “Waddle & Silvy” show weekdays from 2 to 6 p.m. on ESPN 1000.