Matt Nagy spoke with Andy Dalton about drafting Justin Fields

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The Packers could apparently learn a thing or two about managing a quarterback room from Ryan Pace, Matt Nagy and the Bears. One of the biggest stories of the Draft weekend has been the fractured relationship between Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay brass, stemming from the Packers’ decision to move up and draft QB Jordan Love in 2020, without cluing in Rodgers. To avoid similar hurt feelings in Chicago, Pace told the media on Thursday night that he and Nagy have made sure to keep Andy Dalton in the loop about their plans at the position, now that Justin Fields has entered the picture too.


“Matt has spoken to Andy Dalton tonight,” Pace said following the conclusion of the first round on Thursday night. “That communication and clarity for us is really important. Andy is our starter, and we’re gonna have a really good plan in place to develop Justin and do what’s best for our organization and win games.”

None of that is surprising to hear from Pace before the team even trots out in t-shirts and shorts for training camp. But it is worth mentioning that Pace did leave the door open for Fields to win the job.

“We just have to let it play out. Let it play out. I think one of the best feelings in the world would be, hey, we’re rolling, we’re playing really good football, we’re winning and we’re looking over there and we’re seeing this guy and we all know, everyone in the building knows that, hey, we got a guy… but it’ll be a daily process, a daily evaluation but we’re excited to let that play out.”

For his part, Dalton said he understood the possibility that the Bears could draft a rookie quarterback during his introductory press conference in March. Back then he said he wouldn’t mind mentoring a rookie.

“That’s just part of it,” Dalton said. “I’ve been the starter and helped the backup throughout my career. I think it’s what you can do to help the next guy. We’ll see if that’s the case, and what we do in the draft, but I’ve got no problem with that.”

Now we know that is, in fact, the case. We also know that unlike in Green Bay, the Bears don’t have to worry about tending to their QB1’s bruised ego.

 

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