It’s precipitous drop-off for the Bears from Plan A to Plan B when it comes to solving their quarterback problem. The dream of landing Deshaun Watson or Russell Wilson seems to be fading, and the Bears will likely end up with Andy Dalton instead.
The Bears are signing Dalton to a one-year, $10 million deal with another $3 million in incentives, a source said Tuesday. They can make it official when the new league year begins Wednesday at 3 p.m.
That puts him in the lead to be their starting quarterback for 2021 ahead of Nick Foles. The team also still has the NFL Draft to find a quarterback, but landing an instant starter is extremely unlikely at No. 20 overall.
Just as they did with Foles because of his connection to coach Matt Nagy, the Bears will tout the relationship between Dalton and offensive coordinator Bill Lazor from their time with the Bengals. Lazor was his position coach in 2016 and coordinator in 2017 and ‘18.
In nine seasons with the Bengals, Dalton made three Pro Bowls, but had just one standout season. In 2015, when he ironically was not selected, he threw 25 touchdown passes against seven interceptions and posted a career-high 106.2 passer rating.
It was the only season in which he topped 92, and since then — including 2020 as the Cowboys’ replacement for injured starter Dak Prescott — he has an 86.5 rating.
Dalton, 33, has not started 16 games in a season since 2017.
The Bears had their chance to add Dalton last offseason, considering him before eventually trading for Foles. Dalton would’ve cost them next to nothing as a free agent or in a trade, but the Bears opted to give up a fourth-round pick for Foles and commit to him through 2022.
Foles began last season by losing the quarterback battle to Mitch Trubisky. He replaced Trubisky in Week 3, but was benched again late in the season. He finished with 10 touchdowns, eight interceptions, an average of 205.8 yards per game and an 80.5 passer rating in nine games.
The Bears finished 29th in passing yards and passer rating, as well 25th in completion percentage and touchdown passes last season.
Dalton’s signing officially closes the door on the Bears re-signing Mitch Trubisky, their former first-round pick to whom they did not offer an option extension for 2021.
