Zac Taylor on Andy Dalton: "All options are on the table"
Andy Dalton’s future in Cincinnati has been hanging by a thread for months.
The man who holds multiple Bengals passing records is supposed to be on his way out. It seems like a forgone conclusion. Cincinnati is going to select LSU quarterback Joe Burrow and trade Dalton to a team that could use him. There’s only one problem. There aren’t many teams interested in giving up draft capital for a 32-year-old veteran signal-caller that is set to make $17.5 million this season. He's in the final year of his contract.
Will the Bengals actually keep Dalton? Will they release him?
“All options are on the table. He’s still a Bengal,” head coach Zac Taylor told Dan Hoard on the Bengals Booth Podcast. “Right now all options are on the table. He’s obviously a quality player that we think very highly of and he’s under contract.”
It’s hard to envision a scenario where Dalton gets traded before the NFL Draft, which is scheduled for April 23-25. It’s even more unrealistic to expect the Bengals to release Dalton. He’s an asset and their goal from the start has been to get something for him.
Unfortunately for the Bengals, it appears like they held on too long. Instead of moving Dalton at the start of free agency, they held onto him. It was a risky move that doesn’t look like it’s going to pay off.
The market tanked, as former MVP Cam Newton and quarterback Jameis Winston are still looking for jobs. The difference is both of those players are free agents. Would a team prefer to give up a draft asset for Dalton or sign one of those other guys on the cheap?
It’s going to be hard for Cincinnati to get anything of value at this point, but that doesn’t mean they should give up.
Trading Dalton to Jacksonville makes a lot of sense. He could reunite with offensive coordinator Jay Gruden, who helped the Bengals draft Dalton prior to the 2011 season.
The three-time Pro Bowler could do himself a favor and be open to restructuring his contract. He may not want to do that because that means the Bengals will be able to trade him, not release him. Dalton would probably love to be a free agent at this point.
Would he rework his current contract to compete for a starting job? He could get that chance in Jacksonville. Gardner Minshew showed promise as a rookie, but an established quarterback that knows the offensive coordinator could have the advantage in a competition.
Dalton would have more suitors if he hit free agency, but he’d probably have to accept a backup role. If that’s the case, why not stay in Cincinnati and sit behind Burrow? Keeping him doesn’t seem likely, but stranger things have happened.
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