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An MRI confirmed that Bears QB Andy Dalton escaped with only a bone bruise in his left knee in Sunday's win over the Bengals. It's not yet clear whether he'll miss further time, but Dalton did at least avoid major injury. HC Matt Nagy has said Dalton will remain the starter when he's back healthy.
Testing on Bears QB Andy Dalton's knee revealed no ACL or MCL damage, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Dalton is believed to be dealing with a bone bruise, although we're still waiting for confirmation on that. It at least seems like Dalton avoided a major injury. HC Matt Nagy wouldn't commit to a healthy Dalton as his starter when asked Monday morning -- but the Bears' PR team later "delivered a message" from Nagy that Dalton remains the starter, per insider Brad Biggs. We'll see where this goes.
Bears HC Matt Nagy said after the win over the Bengals that he's "pretty sure" QB Andy Dalton's knee injury isn't to his ACL. So that's good. Dalton is scheduled for an MRI on Monday, so we'll learn more then. QB Justin Fields was up and down in relief of QB Andy Dalton today. He completed 6 of 13 passes for 60 yards and a bad INT. But he added 31 yards on 10 carries. Fields needs to be owned in all fantasy leagues.
Bears QB Andy Dalton suffered a knee injury at the end of a scramble in the 2nd quarter of Sunday's game vs. the Bengals. QB Justin Fields has entered for Chicago. We'll update Dalton's status when we know more.
Update: Dalton returned on the next series.
Update: Justin Fields started the 2nd half for Chicago. Dalton has been announced with a knee injury.
Bears QB Justin Fields is expected to see "increased snaps" in today's game vs. the Bengals, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. "Fields is growing every day," Rapoport adds. "There are 'wow' moments, 'wow' throws every single day in practice." The rookie played 5 snaps in the opener, completing both of his passes for 10 yards and scoring a 3-yard rushing TD. It's only a matter of time before he takes over as Chicago's starter. Current starter Andy Dalton obviously shouldn't be in Week 2 fantasy lineups.
Bears HC Matt Nagy told reporters Tuesday morning that QB Justin Fields will start the 3rd and final preseason game and play about 2 quarters. Don't get too excited, though. Nagy also said QB Andy Dalton will sit "because he's the Week 1 starter," according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. We'll gladly take the extra exposure for Fields anyway. Even with Dalton still on track to open the season, it's just a matter of time before Chicago shifts to its new franchise QB.
Bears HC Matt Nagy reiterated after Saturday's preseason game against the Bills that QB Andy Dalton is his Week 1 starter. Dalton played the entire 1st half of that game vs. Buffalo, finishing 11 of 17 for 146 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT. But most of his damage came on a 73-yard score to WR Rodney Adams that was actually a tad underthrown. Outside of that, Dalton totaled just 73 yards on 4.6 yards per attempt. QB Justin Fields played the 2nd half, completing 9 of 19 passes for 80 yards, 0 TDs and 0 INTs. He made numerous plays with his legs, finishing with 46 yards on 4 carries. It’s clear to us who Chicago’s best option is at QB -- and we still expect to see Fields under center early this season.
Bears HC Matt Nagy expects QB Justin Fields (groin) to play in Saturday's preseason game vs. the Bills. So that groin injury obviously isn't serious. Nagy also said that QB Andy Dalton will start and play at least a quarter and a half. The veteran continues to look like the favorite to start Week 1. We'll see if the rookie can make up ground this weekend.
Bears QB Justin Fields missed Wednesday's practice with a groin injury. HC Matt Nagy said the team doesn't believe it's a significant injury but that Fields might not be able to play in the 2nd preseason game vs. the Bills on Saturday. That'd hurt the rookie's chances of moving past QB Andy Dalton before Week 1.
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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