It’s official: Bears rookie quarterback Justin Fields will make his first NFL start when Chicago travels to Cleveland to face the Browns on Sunday.
Despite Bears head coach Matt Nagy dodging the question on Monday, he met with the media on Wednesday to make the announcement.
Starter Andy Dalton suffered a bone bruise on his knee during a scramble in the second quarter against the Bengals, an injury that has Dalton “week-to-week,” according to Nagy.
Fields has seen action in Chicago’s first two games, including his first extended game action against Cincinnati last Sunday. While there were some expected rookie mistakes, Fields will now get an entire week to prepare for the Browns, and he’ll have a game plan tailored around his strengths.
With Fields getting the start, Nick Foles will serve as the backup quarterback against the Browns.
Coach Nagy has announced that Justin Fields will be our starting QB against the Browns.
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) September 22, 2021
Nagy doesn’t expect to put Dalton on injured reserve, which would sideline him for at least three weeks. If that’s the case, it sounds like he expects Dalton to miss 1-2 games right now.
Nagy refused to get into the “what if” game, specifically in regards to what would happen if Fields impresses while Dalton is sidelined. You figure, if that’s the case, that the Bears just can’t go back to Dalton. Still, at this point, Nagy remains firm in his stance that Dalton will be the starting quarterback, when healthy.
“When Andy is healthy, he’s our starter,” Nagy said, several times.
While that might be the case ahead of Week 3, it could be a completely different story a couple of weeks down the line, especially if Fields lights it up on the field.
