Chicago Bears: This better not be the reason Andy Dalton is starting

The Chicago Bears had a lot of excitement surrounding them as Training Camp started to begin. They traded up in the 2021 NFL Draft to surprisingly draft Justin Fields. Nobody expected the Bears to make a move like that going it but it appeared that they have their new franchise quarterback. It still appears that way but there is no excitement around it anymore based on the way things have gone lately.

It almost has nothing to do with Justin Fields himself. He has looked very good in the few snaps that he has taken during the preseason. His athletic ability combined with his talent and decision-making allows him to be spectacular. The Bears just don’t seem to have a clue on how to deal with a kid of this magnitude.

We saw them mess up the development of Mitchell Trubisky. It was only a preseason game but it is crazy that he played against them and dominated with a new organization. We have to hope that Fields doesn’t follow that same path.

Unfortunately, it is locked in that Andy Dalton will be the week one starter for Chicago against the Los Angeles Rams. This is nothing against Andy Dalton as he has had a fine career as an NFL starter. He isn’t the guy he was once but he is still a competent guy under center. However, starting him over Fields just defies all of the evidence that we’ve seen during camp and the preseason.

There are a lot of reasons that Matt Nagy could be making this decision. For one, there are people that believe that sitting Fields to learn from Dalton would help. We have seen this work with guys like Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers. We have also seen cases where rookies come in and take a bit to grow while getting starting reps like Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson. No way is the right way.

The Chicago Bears should only be focused on developing Fields and trying to win.

What we have to hope is that there are no personal reasons for him being the starter. It is worth noting that the Bears play his old team, the Cincinnati Bengals in week two. If they are just letting him start so that he could play in that game, everybody should be fired. This is a league where winning is the most important thing, not paying tribute to guys like Andy Dalton in Cincinnati.

It is fine that he was promised this job before they drafted Fields. Things change over time and they are not thinking about the betterment of the team if they are just honoring that. If they believe that Fields needs to sit and learn, fine. However, it is hard to trust the current management team.