Andy Dalton: 3 very possible scenarios for the veteran QB in 2020
By Steve Rivera
The New England Patriots have re-signed journeyman quarterback Brian Hoyer. Surprise move or not, Bill Belichick likes familiarity and continuity, but it seems like a reach he’d go into a regular season with the kind of talent that is best relegated to the depth chart.
Perhaps late in the game, Andy Dalton makes sense. Yes, it is reported that the dollars and cents don’t help this scenario, but if Cincinnati releases the veteran QB, it is a whole different ballgame. That is something likely to gain steam sooner rather than later. Dalton has long been mentioned as a logical and complementary fit into the “Patriot Way.” NFL writer Peter King has been one consistent advocate for Dalton in New England. But for all the smoke and hyperventilating that Dalton was all but destined for the Patriots, it never materialized.
Perhaps it was the suddenness of Brady leaving for Tampa, or, as many would suspect, Belichick and owner Bob Kraft are choosing to play the long game. If anything, we now know that be it a money issue or a perception issue, no one is beating a path to Dalton’s door. That’s not a knock on the veteran QB and fan favorite, but a likely result of the glut of top-line talent available this offseason.
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It does seem logical that over the course of the next several weeks, maybe even the next month or two, that Dalton ends up in New England. If not, and especially if he winds up cut and in waiting, the assumption he would be a veteran quarterback in demand will say a lot about the actual reality of Andy Dalton. In the NFL, talent is what drives the market. Would it say something that Dalton is still available? It would likely say a lot. Maybe much more than would make the veteran QB feel comfortable with.