After the 2nd week of preseason, three teams were comfortable naming their starting quarterbacks for week 1. The Broncos, who were deciding between Drew Lock and Teddy Bridgewater, the Jaguars with Trevor Lawrence and Gardner Minshew, and the Bears with Andy Dalton and Justin Fields.
The Bears signed Andy Dalton to a 1 year deal in free agency and then later took Justin Fields in the draft after trading up. Dalton is your typical veteran journey man who will play on his 3rd team in 3 years. He started for the Cowboys last year after Dak Prescott’s injury and performed moderately well. He signed with the Bears assuming he’d get another shot as a starter but that was in doubt when they took Fields. Despite many fans urging the Bears to start Fields out the gate and opt to go with the higher upside, Dalton will begin the year as the Bears signal caller. Fields is no doubt the future quarterback for this team the question is how soon will he get in.
After the Bears went with the “safer” veteran option the Broncos followed suit. Lock is entering his 3rd NFL season and has been the Broncos starting quarterback for most of his first two. Saying Lock had his ups and downs would be an understatement and the front office and coaching staff were likely frustrated with his inconsistencies considering they have the team around him to succeed. They traded for Bridgewater in the offseason to raise the floor and give Lock some competition. This move doesn’t surprise me a ton because to me the Broncos needed more of a game manager at quarterback rather than a high volatility one like Lock. Despite Teddy getting the week 1 nod, this competition is likely to continue into the season if Teddy were to struggle.
This isn’t surprising news to many people but new head coach Urban Meyer was reluctant to name Lawrence the starter right away. Lawrence was taken first overall and was one of the most hyped up prospects in recent memory. Gardner Minshew was the one competing with him who has had his time as the starter in Jacksonville and even though he’s had some success Lawrence is the much more physically talented player.
