The Chicago Bears have committed to Andy Dalton as their starting quarterback since they signed him back in March, but the situation is getting more complicated by the day.
Dalton suffered a knee injury during Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals. An MRI on Monday reportedly confirmed that he suffered a bone bruise and not ACL or MCL damage, which is good news. However, it is possible that Dalton may not be able to play in Week 3 against the Cleveland Browns.
That brings us to the obvious question: If Justin Fields starts for an injured Dalton and plays well, will the rookie keep the job? Bears head coach Matt Nagy was asked about that on Monday, and he avoided the question. Nagy said he isn’t going to answer questions about “scheme.”
Here is exchange from minutes ago when Nagy was asked if Dalton is healthy, is he the starting QB
MN: "If Andy is healthy, is he your starter? That’s something that I’m not going to get into with scheme."
Reporter "That's not scheme"
MN: "Of course it is, that’s 100% scheme."
— Brad Biggs (@BradBiggs) September 20, 2021
The Bears apparently weren’t thrilled with that response. Either that, or Nagy thought better of it. A short while later, a PR person came into the media room to deliver a message to reporters — Dalton is still QB1 when healthy.
#Bears PR just came into the media room to deliver a message from Matt Nagy:
Andy Dalton is the team's starting quarterback when he is healthy.
— Brad Biggs (@BradBiggs) September 20, 2021
Anyone who has followed the NFL knows that Dalton is in danger of losing his job virtually every week. The Bears had no idea they would be in position to draft Fields when they signed Dalton, which is why they immediately named Dalton their starter. They were later ruthlessly trolled on social media over the situation.
If Dalton can’t play in Week 3 and Fields plays well, it will be almost impossible for Nagy to turn things back over to Dalton.
