Justin Fields Clarifies Instagram Unfollowing

Justin Fields continues to be the main topic of the Bears this offseason and he made headlines yesterday when Instagram users notices he had unfollowed the team’s official account. The immediate assumption by everyone (including myself) was that it was all over between the Bears and Fields and that Fields was taking the necessary steps to move on. Why does this feel like a high school break up?

Well, Fields went on the 33rd Team, a podcast hosted by Chicago Bear wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown and Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, and clarified his actions. You can tell that Fields is just tired of all the speculation. When asked by Amon-Ra why he unfollowed the Bears, Fields said, “Why do people take social media so serious? I’m just trying to take a little break. I unfollowed the Bears and the NFL. I’m not trying to have football on my timeline. … I’m about to go on vacation, I don’t want to see no football.”

I’m going to choose to believe Fields here, but only because he’s my favorite ever player on the Bears. I don’t know if it’s truly a coincidence that he unfollowed the Bears, but the logic certainly checks out. You have to understand it from his perspective. He’s on social media every day, he sees the debates between Bears fans and NFL fans on what the Bears should do with him. It has to be exhausting for him.  Let the guy go on vacation and not think about football. He certainly deserves that. He also unfollowed the NFL official account, not just the Bears. Does that mean he’s done playing football? Certainly not. Let’s leave Fields alone on his vacation to give him the freedom to relax and not focus on all the chatter around him. And I certainly hope Ryan Poles doesn’t trade him while he’s on vacation because that would certainly put a dent in his vacation.

One other thing to note is that Fields reinforced his desire to stay in Chicago. There are probably people out there trying to speculate on his tone or how he spoke, but let’s just listen to what he says. When asked about whether he would stay in Chicago, he said, “If it was up to me, I would want to stay in Chicago. I love the city, the city’s lit. The fans are great.” It’s certainly clear based on that that he desires to stay in Chicago. But, as we’ve heard countless times, the NFL is a business. Ryan Poles will do what he feels is best for the team’s present and future, having to ignore the emotions of Fields, the fans, and even himself. I still want Fields to stay in Chicago and hope he does. However, I do not expect it in the slightest and hope he dominates wherever he is next season.