Chicago Bears roster: Position group previews ahead of training camp

Chicago Bears Quarterbacks

Now we get to the biggest item for the Chicago Bears, the quarterback. After spending most of their century of existence looking for their franchise quarterback, the Bears feel they found him in Justin Fields.

With Pace pulling the trigger on a deal for Fields when he slipped in the draft, hope came back to Chicago Bears Nation. There is a renewed excitement among fans and coaches. Nagy feels he has the quarterback who fits his system. Fields was a big-game player in college and wants to bring that same attitude to Chicago. He wants the attention and the pressure. He says he’s built for it. He’s ready to show Chicago and the NFL how good he really is.

He might have to wait for that chance, however. Nagy announced during minicamp that Andy Dalton, who signed as a free agent, would be the starting quarterback. He went so far as to say that he didn’t envision Fields as the starter in Week 1, barring an injury.

On Chris Collinsworth’s podcast, Nagy reiterated his plan.

"Andy is our starter… There’s so many things that can happen between today and that Week 1, but Andy is our starter and Justin’s our No. 2. And we’re going to stick to this plan."

While many fans were mad about that statement, they missed out on the fact that Fields is immediately Dalton’s backup. It isn’t Nick Foles, who is still on the roster. That is something. It means that Fields likely gets to see some snaps here and there and probably has a start or two towards the end of the season.

This situation might appear to be similar to what the Bears had with Trubisky and starter Mike Glennon in 2017. Dalton is a better quarterback than Glennon, though. Glennon could not get past Week 4 as the starter. Dalton is an established player with plenty of experience. He’ll be a better starter than Glennon was and should keep the Bears competitive in most games. He’ll be a better mentor for Fields than Glennon was for Trubisky.

That leaves Foles as the odd man out. The Bears could try to find a trade partner for him. If they can’t, the question is if they decide to cut him. If they do, they lose $7.7 million in cap space and will incur $14.3 million in dead money. If they don’t trade him they’ll have to keep him.

Even if they do keep Foles as QB3, he could still do a lot of good for Fields. He is a Super Bowl MVP so he’s come through in big games as well. He could help Fields from the sideline, giving him information on what is expected in certain situations as they happen. Dalton can help in the quarterback room and on the practice field. Remember, Dalton and Foles are on the roster but Fields is the future of the team. Everything depends on everyone helping him.

If Dalton does his job and goes far into the season as the starter, he’ll allow Fields to learn at his pace. If both Dalton and Foles help advise Fields, that future could be sooner than we think.