Chicago Bears Rumors: Week 1 Justin Fields theory gaining steam

For months now, the Chicago Bears have planned to see veteran quarterback Andy Dalton get the start Week 1 against the Los Angeles Rams.

The Bears will be traveling to SoFi Stadium for a tango under the lights. Sunday Night Football — Week 1. This is as good as it gets, but something still feels off about the longtime promise Matt Nagy gave to Dalton.

When the Bears signed Dalton prior to the 2021 NFL Draft, Nagy told Dalton that he would be the starting quarterback. It has felt as though Nagy has held tight to this promise as if he owes it to Dalton to keep his word, rather than starting the highly-talented rookie, Justin Fields.

Now that we’re in the midst of game week, though, a theory has started to emerge — and it’s gaining steam.

The tune is changing when it comes to Chicago Bears rookie Justin Fields playing at some point in Week 1.

When speaking to the media on Monday, head coach Matt Nagy gave quite the word salad type of response when asked about whether he’s thought about a scenario where Fields plays sooner than anticipated (i.e. Sunday night).

Within Nagy’s response, he mentioned that he’s considered “all scenarios,” meaning that if Dalton ends up struggling early against Los Angeles, it wouldn’t be out of the question to see Fields come out of the tunnel starting the third quarter.

The thought that Justin Fields could play Sunday night is growing more realistic by the minute.

In addition to Nagy’s comments, Rams head coach Sean McVay threw gasoline on the fire when he gave his response to a question about potentially preparing for Fields:

"“I think it would be naive for us not to prepare for them to be able to utilize him in some form or fashion.”"

Searching around social media, some guys who are clued in on the Bears seem to believe that Fields will end up playing at some point in this game.

This is becoming more and more real as the week goes on, and it will only continue to do so. Many felt that, for months now, it was only a matter of time before Nagy came to his senses and put down his pride.

The fact of the matter is, Nagy can start Dalton in order to fulfill his promise to the veteran, yet still get his rookie in there with time to salvage the game and keep it competitive. Both can be true, and that’s what many are beginning to believe will happen.

Fields was by far the better player over the course of camp and preseason. It was so clear that just about any member of the national or local media would assume Nagy is either the most hard-headed coach in the league, or quite frankly, needs his vision checked.

This situation is snowballing, and by Sunday night, we could see everything change. Let’s hope, for the sake of the Bears, that Nagy comes around sooner rather than later.