Are We REALLY Going to See Andy Dalton in New England?
Rumors are fun, aren’t they? Especially now in a time where there’s no live sports going on. We recently just had the NFL draft and saw the Patriots come out of it without selecting a quarterback. This would mean Jarrett Stidham is pretty much a lock to be the starter in 2020, right? Well…not exactly. Adam Schefter came out with this tweet yesterday.
Bengals are releasing QB Andy Dalton, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 30, 2020
So we all knew this was going to happen, right? The Bengals took Joe Burrow number one overall in the 2020 draft. He is the future of the Bengals. It made sense to get Dalton out of there and get his money off of the books. So could Dalton be in a Patriots uniform next season? Let’s discuss.
The Patriots Currently Have Four Quarterbacks
The Patriots currently hold four quarterbacks on their roster. There are the obvious two in Stidham and Brian Hoyer. Keep in mind, the Patriots also signed Louisiana Tech QB J’Mar Smith and Michigan State QB Brian Lewerke as undrafted free agents. My honest guess? Lewerke and Smith are both gone before the preseason games start. Bill will take a look at them and unless the excel, they’ll be gone before we know it. But if he likes one of these two QB’s, bringing Dalton on makes no sense.
Dalton’s NFL Coaching Tree History
Dalton has had two head coaches in his NFL career, Marvin Lewis and Zac Taylor. We know the story with Lewis. He had some decent NFL teams, but could never win a playoff game. Taylor inherited a woeful team, resulting in a 2-14 record in his first season. Safe to say, Dalton hasn’t had the best NFL coaching in the world. Now imagine Belichick and McDaniels with him? Dalton would HAVE to improve under their guidance and wisdom, wouldn’t you think? It could be different with a fresh start.
What Direction Do The Patriots Want To Go?
This is the million dollar question. Do they want to still win in the short term? Or, do they want to build for another long-term run? Trevor Lawrence anyone? Back to the point. If the Patriots think they can contend for a Super Bowl now, maybe bringing in Dalton isn’t so bad. It can give Jarrett Stidham another year to develop. There’s still a ton of talent on this roster. Bringing Dalton for a year or two with the right coaching might be a gamble that the Patriots will take.
In Conclusion
Do I personally want Andy Dalton here? Absolutely not! I think he’s not the right guy for what this Patriots team is trying to accomplish long-term. Dalton has a team out there for him. I just don’t think it’s the Patriots. Let’s see what other people are saying about wanting Dalton, shall we? Feel free to vote yourself as well!
Do you want to see Andy Dalton end up on the Patriots?
— Legends Lingo Podcast (@LingoLegends) April 30, 2020
It’s honestly a toss up. Should it be? I don’t know. But to ease our fears, let’s watch some Jarrett Stidham highlights!
-Al Nahigian (@BigAl2793)