Bears settled for Andy Dalton only after Seahawks shut door on Russell Wilson

The Bears threw everything they had at the Seahawks for Russell Wilson. But when Seattle closed the door, Chicago had to sign Andy Dalton.

The Chicago Bears made a splash in the quarterback market on Tuesday, but it wasn’t the kind of splash fans had been waiting for. Chicago inked quarterback Andy Dalton to a one-year, $10 million deal, where they locked up their starter for the 2021 season.

It was a rude awakening following a couple weeks of trade speculation involving the Bears and Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson. Chicago was one of four teams on Wilson’s shortlist, and they were the clear favorite in a potential trade. While it was a pipe dream, there was a small sliver of hope that maybe — just maybe — Seattle would do the unthinkable and trade their franchise quarterback.

So when the Bears signed Dalton, it was a shock considering how things were trending. But Chicago only signed Dalton once they realized that the Seahawks weren’t trading Wilson, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.  In fact, there was a meeting between Bears GM Ryan Pace and Seahawks GM John Schneider in Fargo, North Dakota, where they talked about a trade possibility, where Chicago offered multiple first-round picks.

“They talked, offers were exchanged,” Rapoport said. “The Bears certainly made a big offer — multiple first-round picks. The Seahawks slept on it. They discussed it. Yesterday, they decided, specifically coach Pete Carroll, 70 years old, does not want to rebuild, decided we are not trading Russell Wilson to the Bears.”

Rapoport said the Seahawks firmly decided they weren’t trading Wilson on Tuesday. So once it was made apparent that Seattle wasn’t trading Wilson, the Bears turned to their Plan B: Dalton.

While it was fun to imagine the possibility of Wilson in a Bears uniform, the dream is officially over.

So what does this mean for Chicago’s quarterback situation moving forward?

Where it stands, Dalton appears to be the frontrunner for the starter with Nick Foles backing him up. But you figure the Bears will look to add a quarterback in the NFL draft next month, whether that means trading up to grab a top prospect or drafting a second-tier prospect in someone like Kyle Trask.

Because with Pace and head coach Matt Nagy’s jobs on the line in 2021, it’s hard to believe they’re staking their futures on the arm of Dalton.

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