Time for Cincinnati Bengals to Explore Andy Dalton Trade
By Robb Hoff
The Cincinnati Bengals could pick no better time than the start of free agency to explore a trade of their potential franchise quarterback in the making, Andy Dalton. With a glut of backups in the free agency market, no team is likely to feel too comfortable about handing the ball over to a journeyman or unproven young QB for the 2014 season.
With the risk of staking a head coach or general manager position on drafting a QB who may not convince completely that he is the face and arm of their franchise, no team selecting near the top of this year’s draft is going to be averse to suggestions about a potential trade for a proven, yet still young QB like Dalton.
The Bengals would stand to lose a proven winner in Dalton who could still develop into a top-tier NFL signal caller. Bearing most of the risk, the Bengals would most likely have to trade for the first pick of the draft from the Houston Texans so that either Teddy Bridgewater, Blake Bortles or Johnny Manziel could be their choice to lead the team for the next four years. Otherwise, the Bengals would have to approach either the Jacksonville Jaguars, Cleveland Browns or Oakland Raiders — all of whom may be picking after at least two of the QB trio are already off the board if the St. Louis Rams trade the #2 overall pick to a team trading up to draft one of these three QBs.
Dec 5, 2013; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Louisville Cardinals quarterback Teddy Bridgewater (5) against the Cincinnati Bearcats at Nippert Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports
The demand for the top pick of the draft is a steep price to pay for trading for a solid but not spectacular three-year veteran QB like Dalton, but the allure of adding the Red Rifle from Katy, Texas may provide the kind of currency the Texans will need to invigorate their fan base and keep fans off the backs of the front office and first-year head coach Bill O’Brien.
The dice the Bengals would be rolling would be far dicier. Even though Dalton has bombed three times in a row during the postseason, he has 30 regular season wins in three years. While Bridgewater, Bortles and Manziel are more physically gifted than Dalton and proven collegiate winners, the conservative tack for Bengals ownership may prove too much to risk the kind of disasters that marked such nightmarish busts as David Klingler and Akili Smith.
Still, the Bengals owe it to themselves and their fans to at least see what the value for Dalton would be through a trade if for no other reason than to gauge what his free agent worth may be right now before Dalton either plays out the last year of his rookie contract or signs an extension that will make him the Bengals’ franchise QB for the rest of the decade.