Justin Fields and Darnell Mooney have been virtually inseparable this offseason, where they’ve continued to develop their chemistry on and off the field.
Fields and Mooney have been working together often over the last few months, which has included some late nights working overtime at Halas Hall learning the playbook.
There’s also been some friendly competition between the pair during their time in the weight room, where they pushed each other to get better.
“We came in on a Friday, and we’re just lifting and lifting, and he’s like, ‘Yeah, you can leave now. We’re done working out,’” Mooney told reporters about one day earlier this spring. “I’m like, ‘I’m not leaving, you’re leaving.’”
Both Fields and Mooney tried to best the other. Fields left the weight room for a little bit before returning shortly after. Then, Mooney pretended he was getting a soft tissue treatment to fool Fields into believing he was done. But Mooney then went back to training.
Ultimately, Fields and Mooney left the weight room together. It’s the kind of friendly competition that serves to motivate them both.
“That type of work ethic and that mindset, it’s definitely going to pay off,” Mooney said.
Fields praised Mooney’s work ethic — likening it to his own — and says that it can inspire others to put forward the same effort.
“Seeing how much he works, how hard he works, it’s kind of contagious,” Fields said. “So really just getting more guys around us, letting them see how hard we work. I think them seeing that will just make them want to work.”
