Justin Fields (born March 5, 1999) is an American football quarterback for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). Following a stint with Georgia, he played college football at Ohio State, where he twice won Graham–George Offensive Player of the Year and appeared in the 2021 College Football Playoff National Championship. Fields was selected by the Bears in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft, with whom he set the single-game regular season record for quarterback rushing yards. Fields attended Harrison High School in Kennesaw, Georgia. Fields also went to Lost Mountain Middle School. In two years as the starting quarterback for Harrison, he totaled 4,187 passing yards, 41 passing touchdowns, 2,096 rushing yards and 28 rushing touchdowns.[1] In the summer before his senior year in 2017, he attended the Elite 11 quarterback competition and was named MVP of the event.[2] Late in his senior year, in a game that was nationally televised on ESPN, he suffered a broken finger that required season ending surgery. After his senior season, he was named Mr. Georgia Football by the Touchdown Club of Atlanta, as well as first-team all-state.[3] In addition to football, Fields was also a standout baseball player for Harrison High. Fields was rated as a five-star recruit and was the highest rated dual-threat quarterback in the class of 2018 by ESPN, Rivals.com, and 247Sports.com.[4][5][6] ESPN listed him as the top recruit overall, while Rivals and 247Sports ranked him second behind fellow quarterback Trevor Lawrence. In October 2017, Fields committed to the University of Georgia to play college football after withdrawing a previous commitment to Penn State.[8] His senior year was documented in the second season of the Netflix series QB1: Beyond the Lights (2018).[9] In Fields' first season with the Buckeyes, he helped lead the team to a Big Ten Championship with a 34–21 victory over Wisconsin, and a spot in the College Football Playoff.[20] Fields finished in third in voting for the Heisman Trophy, was named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year and first-team all-conference.[21] In the 2019 Fiesta Bowl against Clemson, he had 320 passing yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions in the 29–23 loss in the College Football Playoff semifinal.[22] He finished the season with 3,273 passing yards, 41 passing touchdowns, and three interceptions to go along with 484 rushing yards and ten rushing touchdowns. Fields entered the 2020 season as a leading candidate for the Heisman Trophy. The season was played amid the ongoing pandemic, with the Big Ten Conference ultimately opting for a shortened conference-only schedule after initially canceling the season. Fields was vocal in his support of playing the season, and he started an online petition that gathered over 320,000 signatures in support of that goal. Fields helped lead the Buckeyes to another undefeated regular season and Big Ten Championship with a 22–10 victory over Northwestern. Ohio State received another bid to the College Football Playoff, playing a rematch against Clemson. Ohio State was victorious in the rematch, 49–28, with Fields throwing 385 passing yards and six touchdowns in the game. Fields took a hard hit to the midsection in the game, and played through the injury in a performance that Sports Illustrated dubbed "legendary".[26] The Buckeyes advanced to the College Football Playoff National Championship, where they lost to Alabama, 52–24. Fields finished the shortened 2020 season with 2,100 passing yards, 22 passing touchdowns, six interceptions, and added 383 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns on the ground.[27] He repeated as the Big Ten's Offensive Player of the Year and unanimous first-team all-conference. On January 18, 2021, Fields announced that he would be forgoing his final two years of eligibility to enter the 2021 NFL Draft.[28] Fields' 2022 season began with a 19–10 victory over the San Francisco 49ers, completing 8 of 17 passes for 121 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. The Bears lost four of their next five games, including a three-game losing streak, which saw Fields complete 56.1% of his passes for 748 yards, two touchdowns, and four interceptions, and rush for 254 yards on 43 carries. The losing streak ended in Week 7 with a Monday Night Football victory over the New England Patriots, during which Fields completed 13 of 21 passes for 179 yards, a touchdown, and an interception, and rushed for 82 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries to secure the 33–14 upset. In Week 9 against the Miami Dolphins, Fields set the NFL single-game regular season record for quarterback rushing yards at 178, surpassing Michael Vick's 20-year record.[53] He also became the first NFL player to have three touchdown passes and rush for at least 150 yards in the same game, and set the Bears franchise records for both the longest quarterback run and quarterback touchdown run off a 61-yard rushing touchdown. Despite his performance, the Bears lost 35–32.[55] Fields was named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week following the game.
Players who have been named a team captain typically have a "C" patch on their jerseys. There is a standard design used by all teams participating in the captaincy program. The patches are in team colors and are worn on the front left or right breast (depending on other patches, etc. worn by the specific team). The number of stars filled in on the patch represents the number of consecutive years that player has been named captain by that team. If they've been named captain for longer than four years, the "C" on the patch is gold. Some teams (i.e. Baltimore and New England) do not have this patch on their jerseys but still designate captains. The New York Jets have not designated team captains since an incident involving Santonio Holmes in a 2011 game. In the 4th quarter of the final game of the 2011 season against the Miami Dolphins, Holmes appeared to get into an argument with Jets offensive tackle Wayne Hunter while the team was huddling. As a result of the argument, Holmes was benched for the remainder of the game, and the Jets ended up losing the game, which resulted in the Jets missing the postseason for the first time in 3 years. His leadership qualities and credibility as a captain have since been questioned.
During special recognitions, the patch may be a different color; e.g., pink for breast cancer awareness; or camouflage for military service recognition. Because of the nature of the game, most teams include their starting quarterbacks as Offensive Captain.