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LAKE FOREST, Ill. – In the hours following the Chicago Bears’ 20-17 win over the Cincinnati Bengals, head coach Matt Nagy repeatedly declined to comment on whether veteran Andy Dalton (left knee) would remain the starting quarterback of the team if he was in good health.
However, five minutes after Nagy’s press conference ended on Monday morning, where Nagy cited a “ploy” as a reason he couldn’t disclose whether Dalton would remain the starting quarterback against rookie Justin Fields, the Bears sent a team official in the media room to announce that Dalton is, in fact, still the Bears’ starting quarterback, health permitting.
The team manager said Nagy misunderstood the question.
“If Andy is healthy, is he your starter?” Nagy was asked about the subject during the press conference.
Nagy said, “This is something I won’t go into with the diagram.”
Dalton’s health, of course, is a major question mark after the 33-year-old left Sunday’s game at the end of the second quarter.
Dalton was injured on a 14-yard run when he landed awkwardly on the Bears sideline and his left knee appeared to flex. Dalton immediately instructed Fields to enter the game and walked over to the blue injury tent to be examined. He appeared to check OK at first and returned to the game for a streak before heading back to the locker room before half-time. Dalton remained in uniform after halftime, but did not have his helmet on the Bears bench.
Fields got 6 of 13 for 60 yards and an interception and rushed 10 times for 31 yards.
Nagy said the team are still working on the extent of Dalton’s injury, but confirmed the quarterback did not suffer an ACL tear. With most of the signs pointing to Fields starting on Sunday against the Cleveland Browns, Nagy had to wonder if it would be difficult to get back to Dalton if Fields got the go-ahead in Week 3.
“That’s all we talked about,” Nagy said. “We discussed the way things would be, the pretend play, just so you weren’t making any emotional decisions. And you also have to see how things go. This is literally this process you are talking about with these quarters and with the players in general and with your attack, your defense, your special teams.
“Kind of going back to what we’ve been talking about from day one, which is just worrying today. We’re just trying to stay in the moment.”
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