Pace: Bears upgraded at QB with Dalton

Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Pace is certain quarterback Andy Dalton is the best option possible for his team in 2021, despite the fans' mixed reaction to the signing.

"Obviously, his experience. He's a nine-year starter," said Pace on Friday, according to NFL Network's Andrew Siciliano. "He's been to three Pro Bowls.

"He's one of the more complete quarterbacks that we evaluated this year in free agency, and we're excited to have him."

Pace confirmed Dalton will enter the season as Chicago's starter, per ESPN's Jeff Dickerson.

"We feel like we've gotten better with Andy," the GM added.

The Bears signed Dalton to a reported one-year, $10-million deal which also contains an extra $3 million in incentives.

Chicago pivoted to Dalton after reportedly making a "very aggressive" pursuit for Seattle Seahawks star Russell Wilson, a failure that has arguably fueled the fan base's disappointment in the team's decision to add the former Cincinnati Bengals field general.

The 33-year-old Dalton spent the 2020 campaign with the Dallas Cowboys, starting nine games - winning four - in place of the injured Dak Prescott. The veteran threw for 2,170 yards and 14 touchdowns against eight interceptions.

Mitchell Trubisky and Nick Foles split time as the Bears' starter last season. The former was allowed to walk in free agency and signed with the Buffalo Bills, while the latter is set to back up Dalton.

Despite inconsistent quarterback play, Chicago made the playoffs as the No. 7 seed after finishing 8-8 for the second straight year.

With a new signal-caller under center for 2021, Bears head coach Matt Nagy said Friday he will retake play-calling duties after giving them up midway through last season, according to Dickerson.