Fields hopes Bears get dome stadium: 'I feel way slower in that cold'

As the Bears size up for a new stadium, Justin Fields said the only thing he cares about isn't whether the team plays in downtown Chicago or in the suburbs - it's whether he'll have to keep playing in the cold Windy City weather.

"I hope we get a dome," Fields recently said on the "Pardon My Take" podcast, according to Ryan Taylor of NBC Chicago. "I don't care if we're at Soldier Field, I don't care if we're at Arlington Heights. I hope we get a dome."

The Bears purchased a 326-acre property in suburban Arlington Heights on Wednesday, although the team cautioned that doesn't mean plans for a domed stadium will come to fruition. In July, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot pitched the idea of building a dome over Soldier Field - a place the Bears have called home since 1971 - but the team said it wasn't interested.

"It is very difficult to adjust to it, especially with the wind," Fields said of Chicago's weather. "That's what I found out. That's what it's all about, is the wind. It can be cold. It can be 10 degrees. But, with no wind you're fine. But with that 15-mile-per-hour wind, that 20-mile-per-hour wind, you can't fight it, it's tough.

"When it's that cold, you have to bundle up. I feel way slower in that cold. It's hard to stay warm in that weather."

After struggling in his rookie season, Fields put on a show on the ground in 2022, rushing for 1,143 yards and eight touchdowns while averaging a league-high 7.1 yards per carry. He also slightly improved as a passer, though he finished the season with just a 60.4% completion rate, 17 touchdown passes, and an 85.2 rating.

Chicago owns the first overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft as the club tries to speed up its rebuild after going 3-14 this past season.