Andy Dalton is a good football player. No, he isn’t a star. He’ll never be Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, or Patrick Mahomes. Yet to call what he’s done over the past 10 years a failure would be, well, wrong. The guy made three Pro Bowls. He went to the playoffs five times. He’s the Cincinnati Bengals’ all-time leader in touchdowns and passer rating. He’s also second in passing yards despite playing 59 fewer games than current leader Ken Anderson. One would think that should garner a little more appreciation and respect.
By the sounds of things, Dalton feels anything but that. The 2019 season was a difficult one for the quarterback. Cincinnati was a bad football team. Their defense was among the worst in the NFL and the offensive line gave up sacks at an alarming rate. Dalton did what he could to mitigate the damage but with his best receiver A.J. Green missing the entire season, that proved difficult. When the Bengals finished 2-14, they secured the #1 overall pick.
At that point, everybody knew they were taking a quarterback.
Including Dalton. He saw the writing on the wall. The team was rebuilding and needed a fresh start. If that was going to be the case, the veteran QB hoped he’d get a chance to find a new home where he could compete for a starting job. Unfortunately, the Bengals never gave him a chance.
Not only did they refuse to trade him during the spring of 2020, they also didn’t release him until May. By that point, every meaningful starting opportunity had dried up. This forced him to accept a backup job in Dallas. According to Albert Breer of the MMQB, Dalton is still upset about that.
Dalton’s more “urgent” now than before. Make no mistake—the 11th-year quarterback isn’t treating this as a golden parachute job. When we talked, there was definitely a little edge to him. His late release from the Bengals in ’20, he felt, cost him shots at starting somewhere, which is why he landed in Dallas as backup. “But you get to that point, and you’re like, O.K., how am I going to be viewed across the league? Are there going to be opportunities?” he said.
It isn’t hard to understand his feelings. After all, he’d done for that organization, one would think the least they could do is give him a head start at finding a new home. Yet they couldn’t even manage that much.
Andy Dalton got the last laugh in the end
The football gods seemed to agree with his feeling on the matter. They intervened on his behalf last season. When Dak Prescott broke his leg, Dalton stepped in as the new starter. On December 13th, the Cowboys paid a visit to Cincinnati. It is a safe assumption the quarterback was ready for that game. He ended up going an efficient 16-of-23 for 185 yards and two touchdowns. Dallas hammered the Bengals 30-7.
He’ll have a chance to get another hit in on them this season two. Cincinnati comes to Soldier Field in Week 2 of the regular season. Barring something unexpected, Andy Dalton should be the starter at that point. No doubt he’ll hope to remind his old team one last time that they should’ve appreciated him more.
The Bears certainly won’t mind help him.
Thus far the 33-year old has looked sharp in training camp. His timing and accuracy are things the receiving corps isn’t used to. A refreshing change from the past few years. He isn’t bowing to the pressure of having 11th overall pick Justin Fields behind him. Another reminder of how competitive he is.