In his rookie season with the Bears, Justin Fields played quarterback alongside veteran Andy Dalton, slowly getting accustomed to playing quarterback in the NFL while learning from a longtime signal caller.
And despite Dalton signing with the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints in the time since they split, he still keeps in touch with Fields.
"Andy's amazing," Fields said on Barstool Sports "Pardon My Take." "Even this year, he was texting me after good games I had and said 'Yo, saw your game. Great job, bro.' Just his family – his wife, his kids – they're amazing.
"Andy taught me a lot last year. Just the life of being an NFL quarterback. He kinda took me under his wing. Definitely very appreciative of that and I wish Andy nothing the best but luck."
The Bears signed Dalton to a one-year, $10 million contract before the 2021 season, declaring the Bears offered him the starting position upon signing with them and mentioning that piece as a major selling point to his agreement.
However, similar to the Mike Glennon-Mitch Trubisky situation in 2017, the Bears drafted Fields in the subsequent draft they signed Dalton. Despite the Bears stepping on Dalton's toes by drafting a hopeful franchise quarterback, to at some point, succeed him, he didn't let that get in the way of his feelings for Fields.
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"He's always been great to me, always seen the bigger picture, not really getting that confusion," Fields said, alluding to the situation at hand. "Always kept it cordial with me, always was kind of a big brother to me."
Dalton played six games with the Bears, winning three of them. He recorded 1,515 yards and eight touchdowns while battling injury that season. Fields snuck in some starts in place of Dalton, garnering 10 games (2-8 record) and recording 1,870 passing yards and seven touchdowns.