Bears GM says Dalton still starter after drafting Fields

Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Pace said Andy Dalton is still the team's starting quarterback despite it trading up to draft Justin Fields on Thursday.

"Andy is our starter, and we're gonna have a really good plan in place to develop Justin and do what's best for our organization and win games," Pace said, according to Jason Lieser of the Chicago Sun-Times.

The Bears traded this year's first-round pick (20th overall), as well as their fifth-rounder in 2021 and first- and fourth-round selections in 2022 to acquire the No. 11 pick from the New York Giants.

Chicago signed Dalton to a one-year, $10-million deal this offseason and named him the starter shortly after. The 33-year-old spent 2020 as a member of the Dallas Cowboys.

After allowing 2017 first-round selection Mitchell Trubisky to leave in free agency, Chicago has a quarterback room that includes Dalton, Fields, and Nick Foles.

Though Pace expects Dalton to begin the season as the starter, he didn't rule out the possibility that Fields could win the job at some point during the campaign.

"We just have to let it play out," Pace said. "One of the best feelings in the world would be, 'Hey, we're rolling, we're playing really good football, we're winning, and we're looking over there and we're seeing this guy and we all know - everyone in the building knows - hey, we've got a guy.'"

Fields believes he's an ideal fit for the Bears.

"I think I fit perfectly (with what head coach Matt Nagy wants at quarterback)," Fields said, according to ESPN's Jeff Dickerson. "If he didn't think I fit well, (the Bears) wouldn't have traded up."