Chicago Bears: Knee-jerk reaction as Andy Dalton signs a one-year deal
By Dakota Wayne
Is there more than meets the eye with signing Andy Dalton to the Chicago Bears? Will he be the last quarterback the Bears bring in this offseason?
Well …*sigh* . I guess Andy Dalton is the guy.
No one said being a Chicago Bears fan during free agency would be fun, but this one kind of stings a bit. It feels like being led on by the most popular girl in school, just to be shut down at the end in front of the whole school.
Chicago fans thought they were going to be repping Russell Wilson jerseys this year, but that is not the case– or at least as for now.
I know it isn’t new to make an obvious overreaction to a team making this type of move, but this news is news that must be overreacted to, right? I feel like this trend was made for Chicago sports since Bears fans, allegedly, like to overreact about things. The Chicago Bears and overreacting about quarterbacks essentially go hand-in-hand. It’s like using mustard as a hot dog condiment; it’s just what Chicagoans do.
Chicago Bears fans’ overreaction: The Bears are completely ruined
The Chicago Bears are ruined. Okay, now that I got that out of my system, let’s look at what actually happened.
Andy Dalton, a former second-round selection for the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2011 NFL Draft, is now the quarterback for the Chicago Bears. In an offseason that had the names of Deshaun Watson and Russell Wilson fluttering out of the mouths of analysts across the NFL, the Bears have signed Andy Dalton.
Yes, Andy Dalton is far less attractive of an option than Russell Wilson or Deshaun Watson, but as far as Adam Schefter announced in a tweet shortly after the signing, the Seahawks were standing their ground on not trading Russell Wilson. At least, “at this time.”
Chicago made "a very aggressive pursuit" of Seahawks QB Russell Wilson, per sources, and the Bears were told that Seattle is not trading him at this time.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 16, 2021
The Bears were one of four teams Wilson's agent named as a place of interest. Now Chicago has an agreement with Andy Dalton.
What does this mean for next season? Well, it could mean a couple of things. One of those being that Week 1 starts with Andy Dalton or Nick Foles at QB.
OR…
Maybe the Bears are getting Andy Dalton to back up their next QB endeavor: Marcus Mariota, Deshaun Watson (technically still available), Justin Fields, Mac Jones, Kyle Trask, or whoever else ends up suiting up in the navy and orange.
Since there will probably be a lot of negative energy resonating around the Dalton signing, why not look at the positives– or in this case, the knee-jerk reaction of my other knee?
I’d go out on a limb and say that general manager Ryan Pace and head coach Matt Nagy feel the heat from fans and know that they need to do something to gain the fans’ approval. However, signing Andy Dalton to a 1-year deal worth $10 million seems to be digging a hole in that plan for fan approval.
Andy Dalton is headed to the #Bears. The former Bengals 2nd-Rounder, most recently with the Cowboys, reunites with OC Bill Lazor, who was Dalton’s OC for 2-years in Cincy. Dalton had an 87.9 passer rating in that span, 12 wins - 15 losses, 60.7 Comp Pct, 46TD-23INT, 218 Pass YPG.
— StaceyDales (@StaceyDales) March 16, 2021
One of the obvious positives that will probably get talked about as much as Mahomes having a dad that played in the MLB, is the fact that Dalton and OC Bill Lazor are familiar with one another from their days in Cincinnati.
That’s a positive, right?
Next. Bears make case as worst franchise in the NFL. dark
Other than that, I mean, Andy Dalton has the talent and can win games, but it’s a situation that ends up feeling like a let-down due to the prior names in mind. Let’s just hope the Bears are signing him to be the back-up to the QB that saves Chicago.