From the outside looking in, it appeared that once the Bears heard that the Seahawks weren’t going to trade Russell Wilson anytime soon, Ryan Pace reacted with a snap decision to sign Andy Dalton. But on the Pat McAfee show on Monday, Ian Rapoport revealed that decision came more quickly than anyone may have imagined.
“I thought Andy Dalton was going to be a Bear for awhile,” Rapoport said. “To me, it was the 49ers or the Bears. The Bears give him a chance to start, the 49ers wouldn’t. So I knew he was going to be a Bear. What I did not know was when the Bears were finally going to get the, ‘No, you can’t have our quarterback,’ from the Seahawks.
“That happened an hour or so before he completed his deal with the Bears. That was really the hold up.”
Wow, talk about acting decisively once the Bears knew they had to pivot.
As for the Bears’ prospects of still bringing Wilson in this season, Rapoport wouldn’t rule anything out. But he also said talks have cooled.
“As far as are the Bears still trying? I guess anything is possible,” Rapoport said. “But I haven’t heard a lot of momentum recently on them trying.
“I would never say ‘never’ on anything happening in this weird world, but it seems like once the Bears signed Andy Dalton, that probably was a wrap. Maybe it will be next offseason when we’re talking about Russell Wilson getting traded.”
This doesn’t mean the Bears are 100% going to roll into Week 1 with Andy Dalton and Nick Foles in their quarterback room. In the same show, Rapoport said a team like the Bears could still make a deal for Deshaun Watson, despite sexual misconduct allegations, if Houston makes him available. There’s still a chance of a trade around the draft to bring in a rookie quarterback too.
But at least for now, Dalton looks like he’ll be the Week 1 starter.
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