Bears agree to terms with former Cowboys QB Andy Dalton on a reported one-year, $10 million deal

The Chicago Bears have a new quarterback in the fold. On Tuesday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the Bears agreed to terms with former Dallas Cowboys backup Andy Dalton on a one-year, $10 million deal with a chance to earn another $3 million in incentives. CBS NFL insider Jonathan Jones confirmed the one-year deal. Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network also reported that Dalton received interest from several teams around the league, including the San Francisco 49ers.

Dalton was originally drafted in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals out of TCU. He accumulated a record of 70-61-2 with Cincinnati before being released following the drafting of Joe Burrow last offseason. When he signed with the Cowboys, Dalton was expected to serve as Dak Prescott’s backup, but he was thrust into the spotlight following Prescott’s season-ending ankle injury in Week 5. In 11 games played with nine starts in 2020, Dalton completed 64.9 percent of his passes for 2,170 yards, 14 touchdowns and eight interceptions.

Dalton now joins another veteran quarterback in Nick Foles. With Dalton’s addition, it also makes it seem unlikely former No. 2 overall pick Mitchell Trubisky will be returning in 2021. Bears head coach Matt Nagy again has options at quarterback, but it remains to be seen if the Bears are done trying to add under center. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Bears made “a very aggressive pursuit” of Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, but were told that Seattle was not trading him at this time. Just last week, CBS NFL insider Jason La Canfora reported that the Bears were prepared to throw a “boatload” of picks at the Seahawks for Wilson, or the Houston Texans for Deshaun Watson. If the Bears are unable to woo either star quarterback to Chicago via a trade, there’s a good chance Dalton could be the starter in 2021.