The New England Patriots currently have four quarterbacks on their 90-man roster and an open spot. Should they fill it with the Red Rifle?
The Cincinnati Bengals released longtime starting quarterback Andy Dalton on Thursday. Dalton has been on the trade block for the last three months, but it’s no wonder Cincinnati couldn’t get a bite on a deal before the 2020 NFL Draft. Dalton had a $17.5 million base salary, which is extremely high for a player who was benched for Ryan Finley last season.
No team in their right mind was going to give up assets and pay Dalton $17.5 million. And it made no sense for the Bengals to eat some of Dalton’s salary for some measly draft capital if they could release him and free up his full $17.5 million salary’s worth of cap space.
So, Dalton’s release was an inevitability, and now it’s at least more likely that the Patriots could be interested in him.
Let’s go through the reasons why the Patriots would want to sign Dalton. The first is cost. The New Orleans Saints just signed Jameis Winston to a contract with a base value of $1.1 million with $3.4 million in incentives. If Winston is only going to make a little over a million next season, then it seems unlikely that Dalton will sign for much more. Winston is a younger quarterback with more upside, and he was not benched for Ryan Finley last season.
Dalton, at around $1 million with added incentives, is a good value when you consider the fact that Marcus Mariota is making $8.8 million per year, Case Keenum is making $6 million per year and Chase Daniel is making $4.35 million per year.
Dalton has starting experience and seemingly would compete with Jarrett Stidham and Brian Hoyer for a starting job. And if he didn’t earn it, he would compete for the backup job with whoever else didn’t win.
More Patriots: Post-Draft 53-Man Roster Projection
On paper, and in a vacuum, Dalton is a better backup than Hoyer.
Hoyer is 16-22 in his career as a starter. He’s completed 59.1 percent of his passes with a 3.5-percent touchdown rate, 2.3-percent interception rate, 7 yards per attempt and an 82.5 passer rating in 11 seasons.
Dalton, meanwhile, is 70-61-2 as a starter. He led his team to the postseason in his first five seasons and won double-digit games in four of those years. He’s completed 62 percent of his passes with a 4.6-percent touchdown rate, 2.7-percent interception rate, 7.1 yards per attempt and an 87.5 passer rating. He’s also two years younger than Hoyer.
If an expansion team with no prior history with either player was picking between the quarterbacks, they would take Dalton every time.
But the Patriots don’t exist in a vacuum. Hoyer has spent parts of five seasons and six offseasons with the Patriots. He knows the offense, and there’s no real question or worry with him as a backup or part-time starter.
The Patriots have no idea when or if they’ll be able to hold an offseason workout program or training camp because of the coronavirus pandemic. They have two quarterbacks in Stidham and Hoyer who will show up on Day 1 and start rolling without a learning curve. If the Patriots sign Dalton, they might not know what they have in him for months.
In an ideal world, Stidham will be the Patriots starter this season. So, ultimately, in deciding between Dalton and Hoyer, we’re talking about upside for a backup quarterback.
Because of value and starting experience, there’s some appeal to pursuing Dalton. But when it comes down to it, it really doesn’t make much sense for the Patriots in the grand scheme of things in an uncertain offseason and a solid backup option already in place.
