The Chicago Bears signed Andy Dalton in a move that has fans across the country frustrated. There is the obvious frustration in the idea that the Bears have yet again added a new signal-caller to the list. However, with Ryan Pace, and how he maneuvered this particular decision, that anger steams much more.
Last year at about this very time, the Chicago Bears were in this same situation debating what to do at quarterback. They lacked patience and jumped the gun by trading for Nick Foles. What they could have done is signed Andy Dalton.
The Bears traded for Foles on March 18. The reasoning was that they had to do it because they couldn’t wait for Dalton to be released. They had to make a move. Seriously.
A month later, Dalton got released. The Bears could have signed Dalton in 2020 for $4 million. This is true because he signed with Dallas for $3 million. He surely would have signed for more money to compete with Mitch Trubisky to start.
Instead, the Bears traded a pick for Foles and gave him $17 million guaranteed.
Now, Ryan Pace is admitting his mistake by doubling, no, tripling down by giving Andy Dalton $10 million a year after he signed for $3 million, and many suggested the Bears should just sign him then.
Whatever you think about Dalton, the Chicago Bears, or Ryan Pace, this is troubling. Just last season he thought Dalton was not worth waiting a month for, or paying $3 million, or apparently trading a fourth-round pick as he did for Foles. One year later, that same player is his answer? His desperation smells awful.
Had they signed Dalton in 2020 for $3 million, kept their draft pick, and not had any money tied up to a veteran like Foles is, fans would not be so mad that Dalton is currently the top man on the roster. The process was awful, and he got around to overpaying the former cheap and reasonable option.
Advocating for firing someone is not necessarily the moral thing, but it is hard to say that someone who has made the mistakes he has and then overcompensated to bandage them with bigger mistakes should be able to keep making decisions that are this important.