Head coach Matt Nagy hasn’t made a commitment one way or the other on which quarterback will start this Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals. He made it clear Justin Fields remains the starter, but veteran Andy Dalton has gotten the first-team reps in practice as the rookie works his way back from cracked ribs. Fields has practiced on a limited basis twice this week. So what will the Chicago Bears do?
Nagy isn’t likely to provide an answer until close to game time. However, he may no longer have to. Sharp-eared viewers who were watching the Thursday Night Football matchup between the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints may have caught it. During halftime, Curt Menefee, the host of Fox NFL pregame and postgame shows, was discussing the NFC West division race between the Los Angeles Rams and Arizona Cardinals. When the subject of the latter’s game on Sunday in Chicago game up? Menefee seemed to let a piece of key information slip.
Not a lot of room for conjecture there.
Menefee sounded like a man who firmly knows that Dalton will be starting on Sunday. How could he know that if the Chicago Bears haven’t announced it? Well, considering the job he works at it isn’t a stretch to think he has pretty good connections. Among them is Jay Glazer, one of the best insiders in the league. It wouldn’t be a shock at all if he knew and happened to pass the info on to Menefee who accidentally let it slip during the broadcast.
If this is true, and the few signs outside of this revelation suggest it is, then that means Dalton is starting Sunday. In all honesty, it isn’t a huge surprise. Cracked ribs are a tricky injury for any player. Especially a rookie quarterback who still doesn’t know how to protect himself. Combine that with the fact they’re playing one of the best pass defenses in the league behind a blitz-heavy rush?
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Sitting the kid felt likely. Let the veteran Dalton deal with those issues and give Fields another week for those bones to heal.
