Chicago Bears News: Team reaches agreement with Andy Dalton
The Chicago Bears may have found their new starting quarterback on Tuesday as the team has agreed to a deal with former Dallas Cowboys and Cincinnati Bengals starting quarterback Andy Dalton. Adam Schefter of ESPN was the first to report to the agreement.
With Jameis Winston re-signing with the New Orleans Saints and Ryan Fitzpatrick signing with the Washington Football Team on Monday, free-agent options at the quarterback position were quickly drying up for the Bears.
That would be the reason why the Bears moved quickly on Tuesday to sign Dalton. Dalton was uninspiring during the 2020 season with the Dallas Cowboys in place of the injured Dak Prescott. In 9 starts with the Cowboys last season, Dalton tossed for 14 touchdowns against 9 interceptions with a mediocre passer rating of 87.3.
As the roster is currently constructed, Dalton is likely penciled in so he can compete with Nick Foles as the team’s starting quarterback to begin the 2021 NFL Season. Under that scenario, the Bears will likely select a quarterback within the first two rounds of the 2021 NFL Draft.
The signing of Dalton was a tone-deaf move by Bears’ general manager Ryan Pace. The Bears’ front office has spent the first two months of the off-season throwing their quarterback position under the bus.
Whether it was Ted Phillips admitting that the Bears had not gotten the quarterback position right or head coach Matt Nagy insinuating that all the Bears needed was to fix the quarterback position, the Bears admitted to the league that they were desperate to find a quarterback this off-season.
Former Cowboys' QB Andy Dalton is signing a one-year, $10 million deal, with the chance to earn another $3 million in incentives, with the Chicago Bears, per sources.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 16, 2021
The Bears entered the start of the NFL Free Agency period with high hopes of trading for Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson or Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson. Instead, the Bears gifted their fans with Dalton as their new quarterback.
In regards to what the Dalton signing means for the Bears’ pursuit of Watson or Wilson, it likely moves each of those trades into the highly unlikely category. While Dalton’s cap hit does not prevent the Bears from making further moves at the quarterback position this off-season, especially in the 2021 NFL Draft, it seems unlikely that the team would sign Dalton with Nick Foles on the roster still and then acquire Watson or Wilson.
Andy Dalton makes little sense for Bears. dark. Next
The Chicago Bears made a move at the quarterback position on Tuesday with the signing of Dalton but it appears that this just the latest quarterback blunder by general manager Ryan Pace.