Kyle Shanahan shares candid take on Justin Fields, who the 49ers passed up for Trey Lance

Week 8 of the 2021 NFL regular season will bring us a game between teams who are urged to win when the Chicago Bears host the San Francisco 49ers at Soldier Field. And it might be quite special for Justin Fields as well.

The Ohio State product has been heavily linked with the 49ers before the 2021 NFL Draft and it seemed like he was frontrunner to be selected by them with the third-overall pick. However, it was Trey Lance who moved to San Francisco.

In a shocking turn of events, the Bears got the opportunity of selecting Fields with the 11th-overall pick. Ahead of Sunday's meeting, he has drawn praise from who could have been his coach his year, Kyle Shanahan.

49ers coach Kyle Shanahan heaps praise on Justin Fields ahead of game vs. Bears

Justin Fields won't only try to get the win on Sunday to improve his team to 4-4 this season but also to prove the 49ers wrong in passing on him earlier this year. Shanahan, however, is aware of his talent and has only had words of praise for the Bears' rookie.

“I can’t sit here and talk too much about another quarterback in that way, but I really liked Justin,” Shanahan told reporters on Wednesday. “I thought that he was extremely tough, very talented. Getting to know him through it, I thought he was a great guy.

“He’s getting thrown in there and playing and he’s having some up and down moments, which is expected. But you have to always be ready for him. If he breaks away, he’s got the size, and he’s got the speed to outrun almost anybody, he throws a great deep ball, has got a big arm, can make every throw and he’s getting better each week.”

The fact that the 49ers ended up drafting Lance doesn't mean Fields hasn't made an impression on them. The organization simply had other plans and this year's draft class didn't make it easy to choose between one QB and another.

However, Lance won't start on Sunday as he's still healing from a knee sprain. Jimmy Garoppolo will be taking the offensive reins of the San Francisco (2-4), who'll see this weekend if they don't regret passing on Fields.