Patience Can Still Do More for Bears than Andy Dalton

Analysis: As dominoes began falling in the quarterback chase, the Bears are reported to be interested in Dallas free agent Andy Dalton but has it really come to the point where they need to reach this far for an option?

When a team lacks funds or lucrative draft picks or both, they play the waiting game in free agency or the trade market if they're looking for a quarterback.

The Bears looked at their watches, manned the phones, stared at the ceiling and checked Twitter all day like anyone on Day 1 of legalized free agent tampering.

After seeing the picks fall off the board, it's starting to look like their answer could be an underwhelming choice. 

Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune quoted a league source late Monday saying Andy Dalton appeared to be close to signing and the team interested could be the Bears.

The unlikely deal with Russell Wilson hung over the Bears as the second day of legalized tampering in free agency began. 

Nothing happened.

Will the Seahawks restructure Russell Wilson's deal, almost certainly sealing their quarterback's return to the Emerald City? Will they actually respond to an offer for Wilson from the Bears or anyone else, which they haven't done according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

One potential target to pivot to in case the Wilson deal never occurs fell by the wayside when Jameis Winston decided to remain in New Orleans. It surprised  no one considering reports all along he wanted to compete for playing time with Taysom Hill as Drew Brees' replacement.

An ESPN report called the Bears "suitors" for Winston, which was laughable. Considering he only received $5.5 million for one year in New Orleans, it's safe to say they didn't consider him a real possibility or they simply could have signed him. They were more like casual observers from the cheap seats on the Winston revival.

Didn't Matt Nagy see enough silly interceptions from Mitchell Trubisky to ever tolerate watching Winston and his 30-interception show anyway?

The other name off the board on Monday was Ryan Fitzpatrick. He seemed like a potential fit for one season in case of an emergency and all other quarterbacks were taken, but his name never popped up as being seriously linked with the Bears—other than the fact he and Bears receivers coach Mike Furry are good friends.

Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus posted on Twitter how the Bears are boxing themselves in and that could actually be true at some point, but it really wasn't when he said it. This was right after they lost the chance at signing Winston.

It seemed closer to liberating yourself of one unwanted possibility.

Then came the report about Dalton, who earlier in the day had been part of another rumor to Chicago. If this pans out, it's safe to say it's unlikely to cause a celebration like a Wilson or Deshaun Watson trade.

The words of Ryan Pace in all of this keep coming back.

"I really think as a staff we’ve got to be able to pivot and adjust along the way to some things that we might not expect," Pace said.

He also said "...there'd be some things that might not even be in the media right now that are potential possibilities that we're talking about. That's normal every year."

One who no one seems to talk about is Matt Ryan. This is because the 36-year-old quarterback has a $44.4 million of dead cap weight if traded before June 1.

If it happened after June 1, there is $23 million in cap savings. The Falcons could actually realize $17.5 million in cap savings if they cut him after June 1.

Is this the type of situation Pace meant when he said things could happen along the way, or "things that might not even be in the media right now that are potential possibilities ...?"

It's unclear now, but commiting to Dalton as a quarterback to compete with Nick Foles hardly seems the type of dramatic action the Bears required at quarterback when last season ended. Ownership made it clear they needed bold action.

There is always the possibility Dalton is only part of the answer and they plan on trading Foles while bringing in another quarterback. Otherwise, it would be Dalton, Foles and possibly a draft pick.

Sometimes waiting can actually be the necessary bold, dramatic action even if it means boxing yourself into a corner.

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