Justin Fields remains the Bears’ starting quarterback, but coach Matt Nagy said it’s too early to know if he has a chance to start against the Packers on Sunday. Fields has been out two games with cracked ribs, and Andy Dalton has started in his place.
“That’s going to be an ongoing discussion for us all week long,” Nagy said. “This is more of a pain thing for him now. We’re never going to put him at risk medically. If he is able to go, it’s going to be because he’s medically cleared... More than anything, it’s a pain-tolerance issue.”
Dalton, an 11th-year veteran, threw four interceptions in the Bears’ 33-22 loss to the Cardinals. Since taking over for Fields midway through the Ravens game in Week 11, Dalton has completed 59% of his passes for 747 yards with five touchdowns and five interceptions for a 77.6 passer rating.
Fields suffered the injury Nov. 21, and it typically takes 3-6 weeks to recover enough to play.
The Bears drafted Fields at No. 11 overall and intended to keep him on the bench all season with Dalton as their starter. Instead, he took over in Week 3. In 10 games (eight starts), he has completed 58% of his passes for 1,361 yards with four touchdowns and eight interceptions for a 69.0 passer rating.
Dalton hurt his left (non-throwing) hand making a tackle on one of his interceptions Sunday, and Nagy said the Bears are “still working through” evaluating that injury.
