In his latest press conference, Andy Dalton made it clear that he thinks he’ll be the starter for the Chicago Bears this season.
After his impressive showing over the weekend in a preseason game against the Miami Dolphins, Chicago Bears fans were more than ready to name Justin Fields the starting quarterback. That’s not their call, though.
At the end of the day, Matt Nagy will have to make that decision and it’s clearly not going to be an easy one. If you ask veteran signal-caller Andy Dalton, Fields has a bright future running the offense, but he’s going to have to wait his turn.
Andy Dalton truly believes he’ll be the Bears’ starter this season
“There’s so much excitement with Justin, and it’s deservedly so,” Dalton said via The 670 Score. “I mean, he’s a first-round pick and just with everything that’s gone on here, there’s a lot of excitement with it. But I didn’t feel like there wasn’t excitement for me either. I think for us if we just go out and operate how we know we can do, I think the fans will be excited when we score lots of touchdowns this year.
“I know who I am. I know who I was created to be. I know where my identity lies. Do I want the fans behind me and this team? Yes. Do I want them behind Justin? Absolutely I do.”
When the Bears signed Dalton, they even dropped a tweet with the caption ‘QB1’ shortly after. Then, the team traded up to select Fields in the first-round of the 2021 NFL Draft. No one will argue that Fields is the signal-caller of the future for this team.
He showcased just how special he can be against the Dolphins, making plays with his legs and strong right arm. He did struggle a bit too early on, which led to trolls calling him a bust. His inconsistency early on shouldn’t be a major surprise. Let’s remember, the former Ohio State standout was in his first live NFL action.
Leading up to Week 1, both Fields and Dalton will keep battling it out to try and win that starting job. If Fields does come out on top, it’s clear Dalton will be ready to help out the first-year star in any way he can. But if Dalton is named the starter, he’ll provide the Chicago offense with plenty of experience. We’ll see what Nagy ends up deciding.