Chicago Bears: Is Matt Nagy just posturing with Justin Fields, Andy Dalton?

Justin Fields is already drawing rave reviews from the Chicago Bears rookie minicamp but Matt Nagy insists still Andy Dalton is QB1. How real is that?

When the Chicago Bears saw Justin Fields fall to the No. 11 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, right into range where they could trade up for the Ohio State quarterback, it seemed like a gift. A team in dire need of a new direction with a franchise quarterback got arguably the second-best player at the position in the class.

In the immediate aftermath, though, Bears head coach Matt Nagy was insistent that he didn’t want to rush Fields onto the field and “ruin him”. However, as Bears rookie minicamp began, Fields impressed time and again. The quarterback was one of the stars as he passed every early test that was put before him. Yet, Nagy’s tune hasn’t changed.

After minicamp, Nagy was asked about Fields’ performance and what that meant for a potential quarterback battle with free-agent addition Andy Dalton. The head coach affirmed that Dalton “will get the one reps” on offense when OTAs begin.

So if we’re believing everything Nagy is saying, Fields is going to be brought along slowly and the veteran Dalton is going to be the man under center in Week 1. But how much of this is just coachspeak and how much of it is real?

Matt Nagy may not have a choice if the Justin Fields hype continues with the Chicago Bears.

To be sure, we can’t know for sure what the percentages are of Nagy posturing and how much of what he’s saying is the truth. However, it does stand to reason as to why he and general manager Ryan Pace would display a sense of trepidation with their new young quarterback. After the Mitchell Trubisky debacle, they’re trying to learn from their mistakes.

That said, overcompensating could do just as much harm to the Bears and, frankly, to the futures of Nagy and Pace. Fields is a different player than Trubisky in terms of raw talent, physical ability, experience in college and much more. And the situation at hand is much different than before as well.

This isn’t a new regime trying to make their mark — it’s a regime hanging on by a thread trying to remedy their past transgressions. And that’s what could make OTAs and training camp so interesting.

If Fields continues what he started at minicamp, he’s going to continue to grow the hype around him. Not only will that be hard to ignore in relation to Dalton, a veteran coming off a few lackluster seasons now, but fans will start to clamor for the rookie. Thus, how Nagy continues to speak on the matter and, ultimately, decide who is starter is will be the dominant storyline of the offseason in Chicago.