Looking for an upgrade at quarterback, the Chicago Bears and General Manager Ryan Pace have acquired a veteran with plenty of experience, a middling amount of success and an existing relationship with the team’s coaching staff.
No, it’s not deja vu.
For the second consecutive year, the Bears are welcoming that exact player to Chicago. A year ago, it was in the form of Nick Foles, and as of Tuesday, it’s former Cincinnati Bengals and Dallas Cowboys quarterback Andy Dalton.
Andy Dalton Signs With Bears in NFL Free Agency
The NFL Free Agency deal for Andy Dalton will be worth $10 million for one season, with incentives that could push the amount to $13 million. Does this signing solve the decades-long issue the Bears have suffered at the most important position in sports? Of course not.
Should the Bears enter the 2021 season with Foles and Dalton battling for the No. 1 job, then this offseason will have been an abject failure, but that probably won’t be the case.
More than likely, the Bears will look for a way to deal Foles. His limited mobility just doesn’t mesh with what the Bears are able to do well, but he’ll still have a role on some team as a veteran backup and role model to a young quarterback. The signing of Dalton makes that ability redundant in Chicago.
According to Adam Schefter, the Bears made their push for Seahawks superstar Russell Wilson, only to be told he wouldn’t be traded at this time. It’s fair to assume that Chicago will keep monitoring the situation in Seattle as well as Houston, where Deshaun Watson remains steadfast in his desire to be traded, and that the Dalton signing won’t preclude them from making a push for either.
Future Bears Quarterback
If neither of those deals are able to come to fruition, and they don’t look especially likely for the time being, the Bears will probably attempt to trade up for the likes of Mac Jones or Trey Lance. If they are unable to draft a quarterback in the first round, Florida’s Kyle Trask seems like a potential target in the second round.
If it’s the Bears prerogative to enter 2021 with Dalton as a bridge starter and mentor to a rookie, then this signing makes plenty of sense. In nine games as a starter last year for the Cowboys, Dalton went 4-5 with a 65 percent completion percentage, 2,170 yards, 14 touchdowns and eight interceptions. His shared time with Bill Lazor, the Bears Offensive Coordinator who held the same post for Dalton with the Bengals, should make for an easy transition.
However, if somehow the Bears whiff on adding any sort of young talent to the quarterback room and 2021 does end up as a battle between Dalton and Foles, the already fiery seats of Pace and coach Matt Nagy will progress to downright scorched.
