Chicago Bears fans dared to dream. Visions of blockbuster trades for top-shelf quarterbacks like Deshaun Watson or Russell Wilson danced in their heads, giving hope to fans that the team would finally end it’s decades-long QB drought.
Instead, the Bears signed journeyman veteran Andy Dalton. Chicago and Dalton agreed to terms on a one-year, $10 million contract that will become official later on Wednesday.
That sound you hear is the crashing of Chicago hope into the frigid waters of Lake Michigan.
The Bears couldn’t pull off the aspirational trades. Heck, they couldn’t even land Carson Wentz earlier this offseason. Now they settle for Dalton, the longtime Bengals starter who served as the backup in Dallas last season.
Dalton isn’t a bad quarterback, not at all. The 33-year-old has made three Pro Bowls in his career and guided the Bengals to the playoffs four times. He played reasonably well in Dallas last year too, completing 65% of his passes in 11 games in relief of the injured Dak Prescott. The Cowboys had a better record with Dalton starting (4-5) than without him (2-5). He’s a reliable upgrade over Mitchell Trubisky and a more captivating and dynamic player than Nick Foles, the current other Bears options.
But he’s not Watson. He’s not Wilson. And Bears fans who believed in the shooting stars instead got an old moon rock. It’s cool, but it’s not what they wanted.