The rumors were out there and now the news that no Chicago Bears fan wanted is official. Andy Dalton has been signed as the next quarterback. According to Adam Schefter, it’s a one-year deal worth $10 million with another $3 million in incentives. That pretty much reveals the overall plan. Dalton can be considered the current favorite to start in 2021 for this team.

Any hopes of landing Russell Wilson and Deshaun Watson aren’t necessarily dead, but they might as well be. It’s hard to imagine either of those quarterbacks becoming available in the near future and GM Ryan Pace isn’t in a position to wait forever. He needed to make a move. This was the best he could come up with and it’s incredibly depressing to think about.

Dalton spent last season in Dallas.

He stepped in for the injured Dak Prescott midseason and led the Cowboys to a 4-5 record. During that stretch, he threw 14 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He turns 34-years old this season. It’s no secret why the Bears likely singled him out as their guy. Having Bill Lazor as their offensive coordinator, who worked with Dalton in Cincinnati made it an obvious connection.

The reality is the Bears walked into a no-mans-land this offseason. They had no high draft choices because of their 8-8 finish, which takes them out of the rookie QB picture. As for Watson and Wilson? Neither seems poised to get dealt anytime soon, if at all. So Pace was left with this. The plan ahead is clear enough. Get Dalton for cheap and then use what resources you have left to stack the offense with help.

Andy Dalton is exactly the final chapter this regime deserves

Pace is the one to blame for it all. Everything had set up perfectly in 2017. The team foundation was being rebuilt. The Bears had secured the #3 pick in the draft and would likely have their pick of any top quarterback. When the dust settled, his guy was Mitch Trubisky. True to the form of his predecessors, it was the exact wrong choice as Watson and Patrick Mahomes have gone on to tremendous success.

Now Trubisky is a free agent and Pace is desperately trying to clean up the mess he made. Can he really expect Dalton to save his job? Don’t count on it. The quarterback hasn’t posted a winning record as a starter since 2015. His physical prowess isn’t at the same level it was back then and the Bears don’t have the necessary pieces to cover up his deficiencies.

It is difficult to envision Chicago being relevant at all in 2021.

Andy Dalton isn’t a bad guy. Far from it. He’s a serviceable quarterback but he’s walking into a no-win situation. He’ll be thrown into an offensive system that is anything but proven and have to play in front of a fanbase that wanted no part of him. This isn’t Cincinnati or Dallas. Bears fans are among the most demanding and unforgiving in the NFL. This is a move that has the look and feel of being dead on arrival.