After the sports world was introduced to Bengals news they had long been expecting, Andy Dalton provided advice for his successor, Joe Burrow.
After Cincinnati held the spotlight for the majority of the offseason thanks to having the number one overall pick, they garnered the attention of the NFL landscape once more as they delivered Bengals news many had seen coming. The team cut ties with 9-year veteran Andy Dalton.
Once the front office made it official and selected Joe Burrow, the writing was on the wall. The community flooded Dalton’s foundation with donations and many sent messages of support as they came to terms with the fact he won’t be in stripes next season.
Bengals.com Senior Writer Geoff Hobson caught up with Dalton and the red rifle had some words of advice for his successor, Joe Burrow,
"“Just learn everything as quickly as you can, that’s the best piece of advice. And worry about what you can control… My year was different, too. Everyone wanted to talk about Carson and what would happen. That’s why I say, worry about what you can control … (Burrow) is going to have some virtual meetings I didn’t get to have. He’s getting a leg up on a lot of things.”"
It seems as if Burrow has already taken the advice of Dalton. Shortly after the draft, a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter surfaced stating that the 23-year-old had been studying the Bengals’ playbook for weeks prior to April 23 and that he was ahead of schedule.
As far as worrying only about what he can control, it appears he’s doing that also, although it’s got to be a tough situation for the LSU product. With so many moving parts as the Bengals attempt to usher in a new era, there’s a lot out of his control, despite his incredible talent. Not to mention, filling the shoes of a quarterback that found success so quickly in his career can be daunting, but it’s a task that Burrow has the ability to fulfill.
Dalton, knowing what it’s like to be the new signal-caller in town, commented on his welcoming of Burrow to Cincinnati as well, saying,
"“I knew they were going to take Joe. Regardless whether I was on the team or not, I would have reached out. He had a great college career and he went No. 1 and I just wanted to give him my congratulations on him getting drafted where he did. And tell him he’s going to a good team.”"
No matter how the outside world feels about Dalton’s play on the field, nobody can argue that he isn’t an absolute class act. It can’t be an easy situation to deal with for either party, but Dalton has handled it with grace.
His focus now shifts to the free-agent market, where his talent, leadership, and community work will undoubtedly help another organization out tremendously.