Although he accepted a backup job in Dallas in 2020, Andy Dalton never wavered in his belief that he was still an early-caliber NFL quarterback. And while his time in Dallas was not a Cinderella story, Dalton played well enough to relieve Dak Prescott and gain another chance to start with an NFL team. On the eve of the league’s new year, the veteran defender came to a one-year, $ 10 million deal with the Bears, who on Thursday saw their former titleholder – Mitchell Trubisky – sign a one-year contract to become Josh Allen’s support in Buffalo. And while the Bears have Super Bowl LII MVP Nick Foles on their list, Chicago has already given the keys to the Red Rifle attack.
“They told me that I was the proprietor”, Dalton said last Thursday. “That was one of the reasons why I wanted to come here.”
Almost a week after Dalton pulled the curtain on his negotiations with Chicago and his plan for the future, the team’s official social media account was not shy about saying the veteran will take them to 2021. Of course, that’s not exactly coming straight from the mouth of coach Matt Nagy, but all the signs seem to point to Dalton being the main man for Bears in the center.
While Trubisky won six of his nine regular matches last season, the Bears considered him expendable. In Dalton, the Bears will receive a Pro Bowler three times that helped Bengals reach the playoffs for five consecutive years from 2011-15. Bengals’ second pass leader of all time, Dalton was released after the Bengals were only 2-11 with him in the center in 2019. Cincinnati replaced Dalton with Joe Burrow, who showed significant promise until a knee injury ended prematurely its debut season.
Dalton’s time as a reserve for Prescott lasted only five games; he replaced the Cowboys franchise quarterback after Prescott suffered an injury at the end of the season against the Giants in week 5. And while he was able to help the Cowboys defeat the Giants, Dalton lost two games after suffering a concussion and positive test for COVID-19.
When Dalton returned in Week 11 after a week of farewell, Dallas was 2 to 7 points in the middle of a streak of four consecutive defeats. Despite his obscure position, Dalton helped the Cowboys win four of their next six games to scale back to the playoffs contention by entering the Cowboys season final against the Giants. Dallas fell short in New York, however, and missed the playoffs for the second year in a row. Dalton ended the season with 2,170 yards, with 14 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Its completion percentage of 64.9% was Dalton’s highest since 2015.
In Chicago, Dalton will be flanked in the attack by receiver Allen Robinson, running back David Montgomery, tight end Jimmy Graham and an offensive line that received a solid 2020 season from the center of Cody Whitehair. Dalton is also supported by a talented Bears defender, led by linebackers Roquan Smith, Danny Trevathan, Khalil Mack and safety Eddie Jackson.
Expect the Bears to invest in their offensive line in the next two months. In fact, three of our four CBS Sports NFL draft specialists currently place the Bears in an offensive striker with the 20th overall choice.