Matt Nagy reiterates Andy Dalton is Bears starting QB originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Yes, Justin Fields was impressive in his opening weekend of practices as a Chicago Bear, but no, he did not win the starting job after three days in shorts, in May. While that shouldn’t be surprising, Matt Nagy didn’t leave any doubts when talking with the media on the last day of rookie minicamp.
“Andy (Dalton) is the starter,” Nagy said. “Andy is going to get the 1 reps. What we’re telling Justin and Nick to do is make sure that they’re doing everything they can to try to be that guy, and that’s that competition part.
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“I know that’s for everybody the biggest question is, ‘When is that going to happen?’ When you move up to draft a quarterback like Justin, everyone’s very excited and they want to know when, when, when, and trust me, we all understand that. But we need to make sure that whatever that plan is that we put together, that it’s the best thing for the Chicago Bears.”
That being said, Nagy admitted fans aren’t alone in their eagerness to see what Fields can do. He and his staff feel that too.
“There is an excitement and there is that want for all of us to be able to see what Justin can do,” Nagy said. “We'd be lying to you if we didn't say that or believe that, but we've got to make sure as we go through this thing that we also do what's best for the Bears and for Justin. You know? And so that's where I think as time goes by and we how things go, we'll know and we'll all see it and feel it and I think it will be very natural how this process goes.”
Nagy and the rest of the coaching staff have already laid out a new set of goals for Fields to tackle between the end of rookie minicamp and the start of the first round of OTAs, which start on June 1. But even if Fields continues to pick those things up quickly, there’s still no guarantee, or even a hint, that he’ll take over starting duties before Week 1.
“We just got to decide then when we get to that point, how is he developing and how is everybody doing and really keeping it as honest as possible with all of those guys,” Nagy said following the draft earlier this month. “When the time is right, I promise you every single person will know, including Justin, when it’s the right time, and that’s naturally how it happens.”
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