Andy Dalton is out as the starting quarterback for the Chicago Bears, but it sounds like he had a team-first response to the news.
Justin Fields, who was announced as Chicago’s new starter on Wednesday, revealed that Dalton had reached out to him after being privately informed of the decision. According to Fields, Dalton encouraged Fields and said he didn’t want the relationship to be impacted by the quarterback change.
Andy Dalton called Justin Fields yesterday and told him "it was a great opportunity for me and that he'd be here for it all, for everything I needed," Fields said.
"He just didn’t want it to be awkward. He didn’t want our relationship to change because of the situation"
— Adam Hoge (@AdamHoge) October 6, 2021
Dalton signed with Chicago to start. He got that chance, but he threw for only one touchdown and 262 yards over two games before his knee injury knocked him out of the starting job. The Bears couldn’t conceivably keep starting him, as he simply isn’t their best option.
Dalton’s relationship with Fields does not seem to be suffering despite the quarterback change. That might be because of how supportive Fields has been despite Dalton’s struggles.
