The Chicago Bears are in the midst of a quarterback controversy with Andy Dalton and Justin Fields. The Bears signed Dalton to a $10 million contract in the offseason, only to then trade up to acquire Fields in the 2021 NFL Draft. Despite having this young phenom at quarterback, Bears head coach Matt Nagy made it clear from the beginning that Dalton would be the starter.
Given this stubborn insistence throughout training camp, the preseason and an ugly Week 1 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, one might assume Fields just isn't ready to play. That's a reasonable argument for a situation like this.
However, Bears offensive coordinator Bill Lazor said Wednesday Fields was ready to take on âanythingâ in the preseason, according to Zack Pearson of BearReport.com. The young quarterback certainly looked the part during those exhibition games.
If Fields is actually ready for âanything,â there's basically no reason he shouldn't be the starting quarterback. Dalton just isn't good enough to keep Fields off the field. The young quarterback did get a few plays against the Rams and converted a rushing touchdown, but his usage was minimal. Lazor admitted to being impressed by what he saw.
Meanwhile, Andy Dalton was Andy Dalton. He threw a bunch of quick passes as the Bears ran an ultra-conservative game plan against the Rams, which was actually called out by wide receiver Marquise Goodwin. Dalton didn't throw a single downfield ball.
Despite the Week 1 debacle, Dalton is in line to start again in Week 2 against his former team, Cincinnati Bengals. The hope is Nagy will open up the playbook a bit more, and maybe Fields will see a few more snaps. The Bengals aren't as good as the Rams defensively, so there should be some opportunities there.
If the offense falters again and Chicago loses, though, there will truly be no more excuses when it comes to starting Fields. There are barely any excuses now, especially if he's ready to handle âanything.â
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