Andy Dalton says late timing of release by Bengals limited his options
CINCINNATI — In his to start with reviews since remaining slash Thursday, former Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton claimed he believes the delayed timing of his launch hindered his opportunities to be a part of a different team.
“This calendar year there were being a good sum of quarterbacks that were being available,” Dalton claimed when asked about likely trade selections in a tale revealed by Bengals.com on Friday evening. “I imagine it would have worked out in a different way if I experienced been a no cost agent when the new league calendar year started off. I was continue to under deal and that damage me.”
The new league calendar year and formal opening of no cost agency was March 18. The Bengals, a usually conservative franchise on the open up market place, fatigued substantially of their available salary-cap room on new gamers.
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When that happened, it effectively ensured the Bengals would not be ready to manage Dalton’s $17.7 million salary for the final calendar year of his deal.
To compound the scenario, Cincinnati chosen quarterback Joe Burrow with the to start with in general decide on in the draft, a selection that experienced been speculated about since just before the close of very last time. The Bengals were being unable to find a trade spouse for Dalton in the ensuing times, and he was unveiled Thursday.
“I’m absolutely sure groups understood they [the Bengals] were being likely to choose a quarterback No. 1 and they would launch me and there was no motive to hurry into nearly anything,” Dalton, who has nevertheless to signal with a different team, explained to Bengals.com
Dalton made equivalent reviews soon after Bengals mentor Zac Taylor knowledgeable him he was likely to be benched just several hours just before the midseason trade deadline very last Oct. 29.
“I wish if he was thinking about it at minimum allow me attempt to see if I could close up someplace else or at minimum see if you can find interest in quite possibly obtaining traded,” Dalton claimed at the time. “At that position, the way it was handled, there wasn’t enough time to even have that occur.”
Dalton returned to the major of the depth chart soon after a three-recreation stint on the bench and led the Bengals to their only two victories of the time.
This offseason, the Bears were being reportedly seeking at a likely trade for Dalton. Chicago as a substitute opted to deal a fourth-spherical decide on to Jacksonville for quarterback Nick Foles on March 31. Jacksonville employs Dalton’s former offensive coordinator, Jay Gruden, in the exact place and is interested in pursuing the veteran quarterback, according to ESPN’s Jeff Darlington.
Dalton made 133 commences in his nine-calendar year run with Cincinnati and led the team to the playoffs from 2011 to 2015.
Right after his Thursday launch, the non-profit foundation run by Dalton and his spouse, JJ, has gained a spike in donations. The foundation largely serves severely unwell and physically challenged young children, according to the bio mentioned on its site.
According to JJ, far more than 1,000 people today have contributed around $twenty five,000 in the 24 several hours since Dalton was unveiled. A equivalent sequence of gatherings happened in Oct, when the foundation gained far more than two hundred donations when Dalton was benched.
