Andy Dalton: Bears 'told me I was the starter'

The Chicago Bears reportedly struck out in their pursuit of unhappy Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and ultimately settled on former Cincinnati Bengals starter Andy Dalton via a one-year, $10 million deal. 

While the Bears still have Super Bowl LII Most Valuable Player Nick Foles on the roster, Dalton told reporters on Thursday he didn't relocate to Chicago to be QB2.

"They told me I was the starter. That was one of the reasons why I wanted to come here," Dalton explained, per Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic. 

Dalton filled in for the injured Dak Prescott last fall and passed for 2,169 yards with 14 touchdowns and eight interceptions across 11 appearances but clearly wasn't the first-choice option at the position for either the Cowboys or Bears. Prescott, meanwhile, signed a massive new deal with Dallas earlier this month. 

Doug Farrar and Mark Schofield of Touchdown Wire rated Chicago's signing of Dalton as one of the worst deals of the start of free agency. The "Red Rifle" may, however, help the Bears land their next franchise quarterback if the team plays poorly enough later this year, and he could also allow Chicago to recover an asset or two via trading Foles to an interested team.