Bears QB Andy Dalton believed to have bone bruise in knee

Bears quarterback Andy Dalton suffered a knee injury in the second quarter of Sunday’s Week 2 win against the Bengals, and his status is uncertain heading into Week 3.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, when the Bears did manual tests on Dalton’s knee, it looked to be “strong and sound.” Following Sunday’s game, head coach Matt Nagy said he was “pretty sure” Dalton didn’t suffer a serious ACL injury.

Rapoport said Dalton is believed to have a bone bruise in his knee, which would likely sideline him for at least Week 3 against the Cleveland Browns. The Bears will know more when they run more tests Monday.

Dalton could miss at least a couple of weeks, which would open the door for rookie Justin Fields to cement himself as Chicago’s permanent starter.

Fields has been “tearing it up” in practice, according to Rapoport, where “there’s been a lot of wow moments. They’ve seen all the growth they’ve wanted to see.”

Translation: This could be the start of the Justin Fields era in Chicago.

Dalton suffered the knee injury on a second-quarter scramble, where he pulled up limping. Fields stepped in briefly. Dalton attempted to return on the following possession, but he was pulled shortly after. Dalton completed 9-of-11 passes or 56 yards and a touchdown before leaving the game.

Fields played the remainder of the game. And while he had his share of rookie mistakes and a rather unflattering stat line, that was to be expected for a rookie who was thrown into the game without any reps with the starters during training camp or preseason.

There are going to be growing pains with Fields, which is fine, but the best place for him to learn is on the field. With Dalton potentially sidelined for at least a couple of weeks — if not permanently with Fields stepping in — Fields should get plenty of reps moving forward.

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