New Chicago Bears quarterback Andy Dalton met with media members via video conference call Thursday afternoon after agreeing to a one-year, $10 million contract.
Here are highlights from his introductory news conference.
On what attracted him to the Bears in free agency:
The past relationship with (Bears offensive coordinator) Bill Lazor, which was one. At this point in my career, you want to join a team that is competitive, that is doing things the right way, is turning in the right direction. And to get a chance to come in and start for a team like this, that’s a great opportunity for me and for my future and my career and everything. So whenever this whole thing was working out, I was excited about this opportunity. I’m looking forward to what’s to come.
On the unenthusiastic reception from Bears fans:
Obviously, I know there’s been a lot of talk, but I’m coming in from the outside. A lot of people don’t know a ton about me and are going to get to learn a lot about me while I’m here. That’s all I’m worried about, and so I’m here now. Hopefully everybody gets a chance to see who I am as a player, as a person, see what we’re going to be able to do with this organization. I’m excited about the opportunity. Obviously there’s been a lot of talk, but I’m not worried about any of that.
On how the last two years have shaped him, including being released from the Cincinnati Bengals last May, joining the Dallas Cowboys as the backup and then starting for them after Dak Prescott was injured:
I’ve grown as a person and grown as a player and I’ve learned a lot from all of these experiences. So I don’t take for granted the opportunity to play and to be the starter, and so that’s another reason why this is so attractive. You’ve got a chance to come in and be the starter from Day 1 and to bring a lot of my experience and a lot of what I can do to this team and this organization and be really productive.
On what assurances he has been given that he will be the starter:
They told me I was the starter. That was one of the reasons why I wanted to come here. So every conversation I’ve had has been that, so that’s the assurance that I’ve gotten.
On if he knew about the Bears’ failed efforts to trade for Russell Wilson:
I was in constant contact with everybody throughout this whole process. I knew what was going into it. I think that was really it. And when it wasn’t happening and this worked out for both of us to come together and for me to be a part of this team, I was ecstatic because I was hoping that was going be the case. I knew everything that was going on.
On what he wants to prove in Chicago:
I’d love for this to be the last place that I play. I’d love to finish my career here and get established. For me, this is the second half of my career. I want to play really good football. I want to help this team win a lot of games. I want to bring some excitement to this city. I think that’s just kind of where I’m at and what I’m looking forward to.
On how he would handle it if the Bears draft a quarterback:
That’s kind of part of it. I’ve been the starter and helped the backup throughout my career. I think it’s what you can do to help the next guy. We’ll see if that’s the case and what we do in the draft. But I’ve got no problem with that.
On what the Bears are getting with him at quarterback:
I’m a guy that brings a lot of experience, that played in a lot of games, that has done a lot in this league, and so for me, I think that’s a big part of it. It’s not just about the game of football. It’s bigger than that. The impact we can make with this platform we have, getting involved in the community and all the different areas of it, and for me, being a great teammate, doing everything I can to help this team, this city and bring a lot of excitement. I’m sure people have seen me from afar and don’t know a ton, but hopefully people will get to know me as time goes on.
On what he knows about the Bears offense:
I watched a lot of film on the Bears going into this thing and just with talking with coaches, what exactly do we want to be offensively? And watching certain games and different things. I knew that the last part of the season they really got things rolling with the running game, they got the line settled, figuring out and putting some guys in different places and that kind of stuff. It was fun for me to kind of sit down and watch. “OK, what pieces do we have? What does this look like? Where can we take it?” I definitely did my homework and watched a lot of film.
