After the selection of Joe Burrow first overall, many figured it was a matter of time for veteran quarterback Andy Dalton to part ways with the Cincinnati Bengals. That moment came Thursday morning, now putting the veteran on the open market.
Bengals are releasing QB Andy Dalton, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 30, 2020
Of course, this news is important to Jacksonville Jaguars fans because they’ve been long rumored to have interest in him. Several weeks ago, NFL insider Ian Rapoport joined us via the “Bleav in the Jags” podcast and labeled Dalton as a guy to watch for the Jags if released. The veteran spent the first three years of his career playing under current Jags offensive coordinator Jay Gruden and the two seemingly built a good relationship in the process.
The Bengals were also able to make the postseason each time although they could never exit the first-round. That eventually led to Gruden getting a head coaching job with the Washington Redskins where he spent just over four seasons.
The Jags seem to be ready to start Gardner Minshew II, but acquiring Dalton would give them one of the better backup quarterback situations in football. Dalton will enter 2020 with a 62% career completion rate (2,757-of-4,449) for 31,594 yards, 118 interceptions, and 204 touchdowns.
As it stands, the Jags’ No. 2 quarterback is Joshua Dobbs, who doesn’t have a career start to his name despite the team giving up a fifth-round pick for him last season. They also have Oregon State’s Jake Luton, who they selected in this past weekend’s draft. He’ll be coming off a season where he threw for 2,714 yards, completed 62% of his passed, and accumulated 28 touchdowns.