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NFL Rumors: Chicago Bears Showing Interest In Trade For Andy Dalton

By Nathan Francis
Published on: 12:42 PST, Feb 28, 2020

The Chicago Bears may have a new quarterback under center next year, with a report indicating that the team has expressed interest in a trade that would land Andy Dalton from the Cincinnati Bengals.

There have been rumors stretching back months that the Bears are looking to move on from starter Mitch Trubisky, or at least want to bring in some strong competition to make him earn the starting job in 2020. A new report from Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic (via SB Nation‘s Windy City Gridiron) found that Chicago has already reached out to Cincinnati to start preliminary discussions on a trade. Dehner noted that Dalton would be seen as a good fit for a team not looking to break the bank on a new quarterback, especially given the uncertainty of Trubisky’s status.

“If looking to give ‘competition’ to Mitch Trubisky, Dalton would be just that,” he wrote. “His contract is a decent number, but it’s digestible when you have Trubisky still on a rookie deal.”

Dalton had one year remaining on his contract and would cost the Bears $17.7 million, which Windy City Gridiron said would be a reasonable price. The site suggested that the team may be able to acquire Dalton for a third-round pick.

The report did not specify exactly what the Bears might be willing to give up, or what asking price the Bengals may have for Dalton. The Bengals are expected to nab LSU quarterback Joe Burrow with the top overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft and are looking to get the best possible return for their incumbent starter rather than cutting him loose.

The new rumor comes just days after another source pegged the Bears as frontrunners to land Dalton in a trade. The oddsmaker Sportsline puts Chicago as odds-on favorites to snag Dalton for the 2020 season.

The Bears have been connected to some other quarterbacks as well. As The Inquisitr reported, some insiders believe they could also be frontrunners to nab Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton, who is expected to be released as his team moves into a rebuild. This would likely be more costly to the organization, and also would put them in competition with more teams as Newton would be an immediate starter wherever he lands. Dalton would likely have to compete for the starting job in Chicago — if he were to end up there.

The Bears have still given no official indication as to what they will do with Trubisky, or whether he still holds the starting job.

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