Bears coach Matt Nagy made it clear from the start that Andy Dalton would be his starting quarterback in Week 1. Whether that was because he wanted to develop Justin Fields from the bench or fulfill a promise made to Dalton back in free agency, we don’t know. But Nagy hasn’t steered from his initial stance.
The one thing that’s become clear through two weeks of preseason and training camp practices is that Fields has done enough to earn the starting quarterback or, at the very least, the opportunity to compete for it.
But the thing that might’ve kept Fields on the bench is how Dalton didn’t do enough to lose the starting job. He certainly didn’t win it either. But Nagy saw enough from Dalton, who has been consistent throughout camp, who has been a leader and someone the team has rallied behind, to be able to stick with him rather than chance things with Fields.
It’s not necessarily the right decision. But Dalton’s consistency this summer did just enough to justify Nagy’s decision — at least, in his own mind — to ride with Dalton into Week 1.
As the Bears conclude the preseason, host Ryan O’Leary (@RyanO_Leary) and myself (@AlyssaBarbieri) are talking all things Bears quarterbacks.
You can listen to the latest episode below:
Stay tuned for a new episode of our Bears Wire podcast every week! You can catch all episodes on Apple Podcasts or your podcast service of choice.
