Trading for Andy Dalton never made sense — especially not for the New England Patriots.
Their roster was aging, and they needed to use their draft picks to bring young talent. But most importantly, the Patriots couldn’t afford to inherit Dalton’s contract. And considering the tiny contracts that veterans like Dalton are getting on the open market (see: Jameis Winston), New England would have been crazy to give up a pick to take on Dalton’s bloated deal. It was best to wait out the Bengals, who were sure to release Dalton after selecting LSU quarterback Joe Burrow with the No. 1 overall pick.
So, of course, now that Dalton is a free agent following his release Thursday, the Patriots are showing interest in. There are a number of reasons why the move makes sense.
First, they can dictate the terms of the deal — and with significant leverage. The Patriots and Jacksonville Jaguars are the two teams showing early interest in Dalton, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Tyler Dragon. Does Dalton want to head to Jacksonville, where stars are constantly begging the franchise to trade them? Or does he want to head to New England, where Bill Belichick is working to get more Super Bowl rings than he can fit on his 10 fingers? It’s easy to imagine the Patriots appeal to Dalton. They should be able to get him on the cheap.
The Jaguars and Patriots are among the teams interested in Andy Dalton, per a source.
— Tyler Dragon (@TheTylerDragon) April 30, 2020
What’s more, signing Dalton won’t impact the compensatory pick formula for the 2021 NFL Draft. New England has — likely intentionally — been a major winner from that formula, which awards teams with draft picks in correlation to the talent departures for their free agency class in the previous year. So for the 2021 draft, the Patriots are set to get a handful of third-round picks, the highest form compensation in the formula, for the departures of Tom Brady, Kyle Van Noy and Jamie Collins. On Monday afternoon, the NFL stopped tracking transactions for the compensatory pick formula. Dalton’s deal will be moot for whatever team that signs him.
What do the Patriots have to lose? They’re likely looking at a shortened offseason, where they’ll have less time to teach the playbook and host an open quarterback competition. New England will want to carefully make this decision by reviewing its options closely. That will be challenging with three quarterbacks in the mix and a small number of snaps to go around. Adding Dalton could hinder the development of Jarrett Stidham, who may be a fourth-round selection worth the coaching staff’s time and attention. If New England wants to focus its effort on just Stidham and Brian Hoyer, the team will pass on Dalton.
If the team wants Dalton, however, now is the perfect time to strike. He won’t cost them any draft picks (in a trade or through the compensatory pick formula). And teams seem to have all the leverage against veteran quarterbacks.
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