On April 30th, just one week after quarterback Joe Burrow was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals as their first overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft and the franchise’s fresh face of the future, the team’s current quarterback, Andy Dalton got released.
How I’m feeling about Dalton’s release
For starters, this was no surprise. Last season, Dalton stunk up the joint, losing fourteen games, leaving the Bengals with a record of 2 and 14. With a record this bad, you could feel a switch was coming.
Once draft day arrived, and Joe Burrow got the call from the Bengals, you could see the writing on the wall. The Bengals wanted a switch, and this meant the end of Andy Dalton’s time in Cincinnati.
It is also no surprise that it took a little bit of time for Dalton to be released after the draft. Let’s face it, there are not a lot of teams in need of a quarterback. Nearly all of the NFL teams are set with great quarterbacks. Many of the new comers in the draft are also excellent, so it left little room for Dalton to make it as a first string player, no matter where he went.
For example, if Dalton had gotten traded before the draft to a team like the Los Angeles Chargers, he would have become the third string quarterback, since they just drafted Justin Herbert from Oregon, who in my opinion will be the starter for them come this fall, leaving Tyrod Taylor as his backup, making a guy like Dalton Taylor’s backup. In my opinion, this is why it took so long for him to get released so then he could sign with another team.
What happened to Dalton during his brief free agency
While Andy Dalton was a free agent in the National Football League for two short days, he had to figure out quickly where his career was going to take him next. This more than likely was not the easiest thing to figure out with most teams already set with their starters and backups.
Of course there were a few quarterback starting positions up for grabs, like with the New England Patriots, the Chicago Bears, the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Los Vegas Raiders. Each of these teams could potentially need a new starter, like Dalton for their team.
Take New England for example. They lost Brady to the Buccaneers and don’t trust their current backup to fill his shoes. Dalton was potentially a decent fit there because he would have good receivers, and is also already playing in cold weather.
Dalton could have gone to the other three teams. Chicago was a choice considering they have a terrible quarterback that will only be in the league for about two more years, and his backup might retire in a few short years as well. He might have made a nice fit for Pittsburgh because Ben Roethlisberger might be in the league for only about two to three years more. He also could have gone with Jacksonville as their starter, since the one they have is horrible winning only six games last year. Which isn’t great.
Truth be told, all these speculations were for nothing, because Dalton chose to sign with the Dallas Cowboys
How I feel about the team Dalton signed with
Two days after Dalton was released from the Bengals, news broke that he had signed with the Dallas Cowboys for a one year deal of 7 million dollars. In my opinion I think this is a horrible idea because they already have a stable quarterback, who has started all of his games and rarely, if ever has his back up play in his place. Not to mention, if Prescott is given his new contract, there is no way that Dalton will get on the field at all.
In my opinion, Dalton should have gone to my beloved Philadelphia Eagles because all we have now is an injury-prone quarterback who is somehow on the DL every season, and a rookie who doesn’t know the playbook at all and has zero experience in the NFL. Dalton would have been a better choice. He is a seasoned professional who would have a a better chance of seeing the field this season when Wentz inevitably will go down with an injury at some point during the season.
Little Miss Football 