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Chicago Bears Schedule Release: When will Justin Fields start?

By Jordan Campbell

MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA - JANUARY 11: Justin Fields #1 of the Ohio State Buckeyes leaves the field following the College Football Playoff National Championship game against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Hard Rock Stadium on January 11, 2021 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA - JANUARY 11: Justin Fields #1 of the Ohio State Buckeyes leaves the field following the College Football Playoff National Championship game against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Hard Rock Stadium on January 11, 2021 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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Chicago Bears, Justin Fields
Chicago Bears (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

The Chicago Bears‘ 2021 schedule was officially released on Wednesday night and many were quick to debate on when Bears’ first-round draft selection Justin Fields will make his debut as the starting quarterback for the team.

Dating back to when the Bears signed veteran quarterback Andy Dalton to a one-year deal in March, the plan was for the Bears to enter the 2021 season with Dalton as the team’s starting quarterback.

Dalton confirmed with reporters after signing with the Bears that he was provided with the assurance that he was going to be the team’s starting quarterback. Bears’ general manager Ryan Pace and head coach Matt Nagy confirmed that Dalton was going to be the team’s starting quarterback while speaking with the reporters prior to the 2021 NFL Draft. Then, the 2021 NFL Draft happened.

The 2021 NFL Draft saw the Bears trade up in the first round in order to select Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields. After the selection of Fields, many compared Dalton to the Mike Glennon situation from 2017. Glennon signed with the Bears in 2017 with the intention of being the team’s starting quarterback. However, Glennon was quickly benched in favor of rookie Mitchell Trubisky.

The Chicago Bears 2021 schedule will be evaluated based on when Justin Fields is ready.

The Bears have learned from their errors in developing Trubisky and plan on Fields’ performance during practice to determine when he will be ready to be the team’s starting quarterback. Whether or not that is the Week 1 game against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday Night Football will remain to be seen.

One thing is clear, there is a strong chance that Fields will indeed be the Bears’ starting quarterback by the end of the season. Does the question become when does the switch from Dalton to Fields happen?

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