Justin Fields to remain Bears’ starting QB over Andy Dalton

Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy said roughly two weeks ago that Andy Dalton will be the team’s starter when healthy. As many anticipated, plans have changed in a hurry.

Nagy told reporters on Wednesday that Justin Fields will remain the Bears’ starting quarterback going forward. He said the rookie has shown enough growth over the last two weeks and that Dalton’s knee injury “sped up the process” of Fields developing.

Nagy tells reporters that internal discussions led to the decision that going forward Justin Fields will be the starter.

“We’ve been patient with this… but when Andy got hurt, it sped the process up. … (Justin has) done everything to show us that he’s ready for this oppty.”

— Kimberley A. Martin (@ByKimberleyA) October 6, 2021

The news is no surprise. Fields has not played all that well in his two weeks as a starter, but there has been tremendous pressure on Nagy to play Fields since the offseason. The reality is the Bears did not know they would be in a position to draft Fields when they signed Andy Dalton. That’s why they were quick to label Dalton their “QB1,” which is something they were later roasted for on social media.

Fields has completed just over 48 percent of his passes this season. He has 347 passing yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions. He has added 55 rushing yards and one score on the ground.

Dalton is recovered from his knee injury and will practice in full this week. He’ll serve as Fields’ primary backup going forward.