Poised for second straight start

Dalton is expected to make a second straight start in Sunday's season finale at Minnesota after the Bears placed Justin Fields (illness) on the reserve/COVID-19 list Thursday, Jason Lieser of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Fields is vaccinated and therefore has a chance to test out of the NFL's COVID-19 return-to-play protocol in fewer than five days, but given the timing of his placement on the list, he'll more than likely miss a third consecutive game to end his rookie campaign. Along with Fields, Dalton was sidelined Week 16 in Seattle due to a small fracture non-throwing hand, but the latter stepped back into the lineup for the Bears' Week 17 win over the Giants. Over his seven appearances (five starts) this season, Dalton has completed 61.7 percent of his throws for 6.3 yards per attempt and a 7:7 TD:INT while carrying 15 times for 69 yards.