Chicago Bears: 5 players most crucial to Justin Fields’ success
By Ryan Heckman
Chicago Bears quarterback Andy Dalton will obviously affect Justin Fields’ 2021 season
There may not be more immediate pressure on one player in the NFL than there is on the shoulders of Andy Dalton right now. Daniel Jones comes to mind, but if I’m Dalton, I know I’m on a short leash when the season rolls around.
Fortunately, Dalton is very similar to another current Bears quarterback, Nick Foles. Dalton is a high character guy, therefore if I’m Matt Nagy, I’m confident he will help aid in Fields’ development no matter what his role ends up being at the end of the season.
Ideally, the Bears would like to follow a similar path to the Chiefs when they sat Patrick Mahomes during his rookie year. Alex Smith played great football that season while Mahomes sat and learned. Now, is Dalton a similar player to Smith, all things considered? Probably not.
Dalton will likely get supplanted at some point, but quite honestly, if he plays well enough for the first couple of games and allows Fields to sit for even five or six weeks before getting thrown in, that might be enough. If Fields gets some real time, mid-season, to watch, learn and absorb, that will be a positive for his development.