Bears' Nagy: No scenario where Fields starts over Dalton in Week 1
Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy remains firmly intent on starting Andy Dalton over Justin Fields at quarterback.
When asked by Cris Collinsworth if there was "a possible scenario" in which the rookie was under center in Week 1, Nagy reiterated Chicago's plan is to sit the rookie behind the veteran, at least from the start of the season.
"No, I mean, Andy is our starter," said Nagy. "Again, I can't predict anything. You know how it goes, there's so many things that can happen between today and that Week 1 (game). But Andy is our starter and Justin is our No. 2, and we're going to stick to this plan."
The Bears traded up nine spots in this year's draft to select the Ohio State quarterback with the No. 11 overall pick, sending a 2022 first-rounder, a 2022 fourth-rounder, and a 2021 fifth-rounder to the New York Giants.
Fields was a Heisman finalist in 2019 and won back-to-back Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year awards to finish his college career. The signal-caller was speculated as a potential top-three pick early in the offseason, but his stock fell during the draft process.
The former Buckeyes standout was ultimately the fourth quarterback taken, with Trevor Lawrence of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Zach Wilson of the New York Jets, and Trey Lance of the San Francisco 49ers selected in the first three picks.
Nagy has said multiple times since the draft that Dalton - who signed with Chicago in free agency after starting nine games for the Dallas Cowboys last season - will continue to top the depth chart.
While Fields is unlikely to unseat Dalton, Nagy is confident in his team's plan and can't wait to see his young passer at work in the preseason.
"Andy's played nine great years in this league, and had a lot of success," he said. "And we're excited to be able to have him come in here and do what we think he can do, but yet also teach Justin how to play quarterback, all of us together, and insulate him so that he can maximize his strengths.
"So we'll have that plan and put it together, but it's going to be really, really fun to have a preseason and see what Justin can do in these preseason games."
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