The Chicago Bears reportedly pursued a trade with the Seattle Seahawks for starting quarterback Russell Wilson, and landed long-time Cincinnati Bengals starter Andy Dalton with a reported one-year, $10 million deal when it became clear that they couldn't acquire Wilson.
DeAngelo Hall said Tuesday night on NFL Network that he would've rather seen the Bears try to sign Tyrod Taylor, who played last season for the Los Angeles Chargers and agreed to terms Tuesday with the Houston Texans.
"You have to put a lot around Andy Dalton to really make him successful," Hall said. "It's gonna be interesting. This isn't just because of what the Chicago Bears did this offseason. This is a problem that the Chicago Bears have accumulated over the past couple offseasons. When they tried to go out and get Nick Foles, I didn't think that was gonna be a wise decision but hey , they stuck to their guns and they wanted to try to give themselves a chance. ... Now you put all your hope in Andy Dalton to hope he can get it done. ... Is Andy Dalton an upgrade over Mitch Trubisky? If that's the conversation we're having - if it's even close - I don't think it saves these two guys' jobs. And the two guys I'm talking about is Matt Nagy, the head coach, and Ryan Pace, the general manager. Both of these guys are gonna be on the hot seat. This decision right here that they made - it might seal their fate in Chicago. ... Tyrod Taylor is the kind of guy that I would've loved to see in Chicago. He's a different type of quarterback I feel like that can protect the football, that can make plays with his legs. ... I think he would've been - like I said in Chicago - a much better upgrade over Andy Dalton."
Brian Billick called Dalton, who will turn 34 in October, "an accomplished quarterback" and the "next best alternative for the Bears" to acquiring Wilson, but agreed that the Bears will need to surround Dalton "with a whole bunch more for them to be good enough offensively."
The deal reunites Dalton with Bears offensive coordinator Bill Lazor, the Bengals' OC during the 2017 and 2018 seasons who also served as former head coach Marvin Lewis' quarterbacks coach during the 2016 season.
The Bears are scheduled to face the Bengals in Chicago during the 2021 season. Dalton and the Dallas Cowboys routed the Bengals, 30-7, in December.
Dalton, who signed a one-year deal with the Cowboys last May, started nine of the 11 games in which he played last season, completing 216 of 333 attempts (64.9%) for 2,170 yards with 14 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
The Bengals' starting QB from 2011 to 2019 trails only Ken Anderson among Cincinnati's all-time leaders in passing yardage.
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