It has been a rough week for Bears fans.
Chicago faithful held out hope that the team could land either Russell Wilson or Deshaun Watson in one of the craziest quarterback free-agency periods in recent memory. Either one would immediately improve a team, but especially a morose Bears offense that was led by uninspiring quarterback play from former Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles and top-10 pick Mitchell Trubisky.
Instead, the Bears signed Andy Dalton to a one-year, $10 million deal after he served as a plug-in quarterback for the Cowboys in 2020. In nine games, he completed 216 of 333 passes for 2,170 yards and 14 touchdowns to eight interceptions, leading the team to a 4-5 record.
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You can understand fans’ frustrations when Chicago’s Twitter team, perhaps inadvisably, tweeted a Dalton photo with the caption, “QB1.”
Obviously you want to show support and appreciation for your newly signed quarterback who, to his credit, has been a more-than-serviceable quarterback for the vast majority of his career. But considering the Bears’ recent failings at that position, coupled with the potential players they could have landed on the free-agent market, the move falls flat. Even worse, it looks tone-deaf for a fan base starving for a quarterback who can elevate the team to true Super Bowl contenders.
So it was no surprise when the post was mercilessly bashed by Bears fans and ridiculed by everyone else:
I can’t fathom the pain of your team passing on Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson to draft Mitch Trubisky, and then still manage to end up with Andy Dalton 4 years later.
Honestly… condolences. https://t.co/Hm0ChktXUS
— Eagles Fan Problems (@EagleFanProbs) March 25, 2021
I’m sorry to the social media ppl that had to photoshop this and tweet it out. You matter and we are here for you. You deserve better https://t.co/5ZDMimsLVq
— Tony Gill (@thetonygill) March 25, 2021
