According to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, Bears QB Andy Dalton has taken every 1st-team rep in training camp. “I have a ton of experience, I’ve seen so much in this game, in this league,” Dalton said via SI. “I’m trying to help him [Justin Fields] out as much as I can, but also, I’m not worried about what he’s doing. I’m worried about what I’m doing, and how I’m gonna help this team win games. Now, there are times when he’ll take a rep and I’ll see something and I can help along the way. But at the end of the day, I’m not focused on Justin. I’m focused on me and what I can do to help this team win.” As expected, Fields has handled all 2nd-team reps ahead of Nick Foles. And according to Breer, HC Matt Nagy’s plan is to play Fields “a lot” in the preseason. That’ll at least give the rookie a chance to close the gap.
The Athletic's Adam Jahns expects the Bears offense to feature more deep passes this season. "[HC Matt] Nagy’s offense has always been vertical," Jahns writes. "His practices in the offseason program and camp have featured plenty of shots down the field, including this year with [Andy] Dalton and [Justin] Fields in OTAs and minicamp. Nagy wants to be aggressive down the field. It’s in his playbook and in his nature as a coach and play-caller." QB Mitchell Trubisky struggled throwing deep over the past few seasons -- but it's a strength of Fields' game. More deep shots would be particularly good news for speedy WR Darnell Mooney.
In an interview with Cris Collinsworth, Bears HC Matt Nagy said “Andy [Dalton] is our starter … Justin [Fields] is our #2, and we’re going to stick to this plan.” Time will tell on that one. But if the plan holds and Dalton starts, he’ll face tough road tests early on: Week 1 at Rams, Week 3 at Browns. We still see Fields starting the majority of Chicago’s games this fall. See where the rookie sits in our QB Rankings.
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