Bears QB Andy Dalton could miss additional time due to knee injury

The Justin Fields era is about to begin for the Chicago Bears, although it didn’t happen the way many expected.

With starter Andy Dalton sidelined with a bone bruise in his knee, Fields will make his first NFL start against the Cleveland Browns, where he has a chance to take permanent hold of the starting job.

Dalton has been listed as “week-to-week” with his knee injury, but the fact that he didn’t land on injured reserve indicated the Bears were confident he wouldn’t miss more than a couple of games.

While ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler explained the Bears weren’t ruling Dalton out for Week 4, it sounds like things have changed.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Dalton could miss additional time due to his knee injury, which could include Weeks 4 and 5, depending on how quickly he recovers.

Matt Nagy reiterated that Dalton would be the team’s starter when healthy, but that might not be the case if Fields impresses during the next three games. When Nagy was asked about what would happen if Fields did show out, he chose not to get into “what ifs.”

But we all know what that would mean. It would mean Dalton would lose his starting job to injury and, most importantly, Fields would take his place as the starting quarterback for what Bears fans hope is years to come.