Andy Dalton

In today's press conference, Bears General Manager Ryan Pace confirmed that the Bears will start Andy Dalton in the 2021 season.

Fantasy Impact

This doesn't come as a huge surprise considering the pedestrian play from Nick Foles last season. The Bears committed $10M to Dalton and barring injury, he should see 17 starts in his first year with the Bears. Our Expert Consensus Ranking currently has Dalton as QB37, making him rosterable in deep Superflex leagues and nothing more. He was able to support A.J. Green as a perennial WR1 in Cincinnati and should do the same for Allen Robinson II in Chicago.

Adam Jahns with The Athletic quoted Andy Dalton saying "They told me I was the starter."

Fantasy Impact

Dalton just inked a one-year/$10M contract with the Bears. With Nick Foles still on the books for $8M, there was some early speculation that there could be a quarterback competition in Chicago heading into 2021. Dalton's assurance from the coaching staff that he will be the starter could be coachspeak and is something worth monitoring throughout the offseason. Dalton is 33 years old and Foles is 32. Both veterans have shown flashes throughout their careers but neither would be expected to have much fantasy relevance as the Bears' starter.

The Chicago Bears have announced on Twitter that they have officially agreed to terms on a one-year deal for veteran quarterback Andy Dalton, reportedly valued at $10M.

Fantasy Impact

The Bears were tied to trade rumors regarding Russell Wilson and Deshaun Watson, but inevitably ended up with Dalton as Mitchell Trubisky’s predecessor. With Nick Foles still owed $8M in 2021, the Bears now have $18M tied up between veterans Foles and Dalton. They also have no guarantees of who will be the Week 1 starter. Dalton had a stretch from 2012-2015 in Cincinatti where he looked like a top talent with 16-game averages of 3,832 yards, 27 touchdowns, and 16 interceptions. He posted an overall 41-19-1 record over that stretch but failed to win a single playoff game. Dalton has regressed a bit since his prime though. His record over the last five seasons is 24-40-1. Last year he went 4-5 in Dallas after Dak Prescott’s season-ending injury, averaging 197.3 yards per game and throwing 14 touchdowns and eight interceptions. His arrival in Chicago probably doesn’t put him in the tier of fantasy relevance, but he should help boost teammate Allen Robinson’s value.

Former Cowboys and Bengals QB Andy Dalton has reached an agreement on a one-year, $10M deal with the Chicago Bears.

Fantasy Impact

Dalton will get $10M guaranteed with a chance to earn up to $3M in incentives. The Bears were considered to be one of the four teams in the mix for Seahawks QB Russell Wilson, but instead they’ll be rolling with Dalton as the likely starter in 2021. Last season, Dalton started 10 games for the Cowboys following Dak Prescott’s ankle injury, totaling 2,169 yards, 14 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He’ll be joining a less potent offense than the Cowboys, but still has a number of weapons surrounding him in the form of Allen Robinson, Darnell Mooney, Cole Kmet, David Montgomery, and Tarik Cohen.

Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune is reporting that the Bears are interested in signing free agent QB Andy Dalton.

Fantasy Impact

QB Ryan Fitzpatrick signed with Washington on Monday, crossing him off the Bears list as potential replacement for Mitchell Trubisky. “The next domino to fall could be Andy Dalton and one league source said he believed the Red Rifle could be headed to the Bears,” per Biggs. Dalton completed 62% of his passes and threw for 2,170 yards and a 14:8 TD:INT ratio across 11 games for the Cowboys in 2020. Multiple teams are interested in acquiring Dalton and there’s a real possibility he could land with the Bears. Stay tuned.