Chicago Bears News: Justin Fields can alter Matt Nagy’s plan
Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy has done a media tour since the team traded up in the 2021 NFL Draft and selected quarterback Justin Fields with the 11th overall selection. Fields is undoubtedly the long-term answer for the Bears at the quarterback position but Nagy has maintained that the rookie quarterback may not be the answer for the team during the 2021 NFL season.
Since the draft, Nagy has insisted that the Bears will open the season with veteran quarterback Andy Dalton as their starting quarterback. Despite the potential instant upgrade that Fields may be for the Bears at the quarterback position, Nagy wants to ensure Fields is not rushed into being that guy.
Nagy was once again pressed on the idea of Fields potentially unseating Dalton as the team’s starting quarterback prior to Week 1 against the Los Angeles Rams. In response, Nagy told NBC Sunday Football color commentator Chris Collinsworth that there is no possible way that happens.
"“No. Andy is our starter,” Nagy told Collinsworth. “Again, I can’t predict anything. You know how it goes. There’s so many things that can happen between today and that Week 1, but Andy is our starter and Justin’s our No. 2. And we’re going to stick to this plan.”-Matt Nagy via NFL.com"
Nagy’s insistence that Dalton will be the Week 1 starting quarterback for the Bears has drawn the ire of Bears’ fans on social media. A word of advice to Bears’ fans, the calendar reads June. While the Bears have had voluntary OTAs the past couple of weeks and are currently in a mandatory mini-camp, none of the players are in pads and the plays being practiced now are only via seven-on-seven drills.
Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy is handling the Justin Fields conversation perfectly.
Even with the selection of Fields, the Bears are operating with the idea, not fact, that Dalton is going to be the starting quarterback when the regular season starts. The reason why that is an idea and not a fact is because what occurs during training camp in July and the pre-season in August will be the ultimate factor regarding who will be the Bears’ starting quarterback when the regular season starts in September.
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As high of potential as Fields has of being the franchise quarterback for the Bears, it’s important to realize that he has yet to practice at full speed or play in an NFL game. Training camp and pre-season will be the determining factor in whether or not Fields is ready to be a starting quarterback in the NFL.
If the Bears reach September and the determination is made that Fields is indeed ready to be the starting quarterback, then him replacing Dalton will indeed be one of the things that Nagy could not have predicted at the time when his comments with Chris Collinsworth are revisited.