Andy Dalton was not without a team for very long.
The veteran NFL quarterback signed a one-year deal with the Dallas Cowboys on Saturday, per Adam Schefter of ESPN. His new pact contains $3 million in guaranteed money but is worth up to $7 million.
Former Bengals’ QB Andy Dalton is signing a one-year deal worth up to $7 million that includes $3 million guaranteed with the Dallas Cowboys, source tells ESPN.
Dalton is returning to Texas.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 3, 2020
Dalton spent all nine of his previous seasons in the NFL with the Cincinnati Bengals. But his stint in Cincy came to an end when the team released him on Thursday. He ultimately finished his Bengals career as one of the most prolific quarterbacks in franchise history.
The stats invariably bear this out. Dalton is the team’s all-time leader in touchdown passes (204) and completions (2,757). His 70 regular-season wins and 31,594 career passing yards is second in team history behind Ken Anderson. He joins Anderson and Boomer Esiason as the only Bengals quarterbacks to tally over 60 wins during the regular season.
Dalton was thrust into a rather prominent role early in his NFL career. He started all 16 games as a rookie in 2011, going 9-7 in the process which was good enough for the Bengals to clinch a playoff berth. But postseason success proved elusive. A 31-10 loss to the Houston Texans that year would be the first of five straight losses in the Wild Card round for Dalton and the Bengals.
That inability to get over the hump in the playoffs ultimately led to the dismissal of long-time Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis after the 2018 season. In came Zac Taylor in what was largely seen as a rebuilding year. Sure enough, the Bengals finished with an NFL-worst 2-14 record which gave them the first overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. They used it to select LSU standout quarterback Joe Burrow, a clear sign the Dalton era was all but over.
Dalton projects as the Cowboys’ backup behind Dak Prescott who was recently franchise tagged by the team. Other quarterbacks on the current roster include Cooper Rush who’s backed up Prescott the past three seasons, Clayton Thorson, and Ben DiNucci who the team selected in the seventh round of the 2020 draft.
The Bengals took Dalton early in the second round (35th overall) of the 2011 NFL Draft. It came after a hugely impressive college career at TCU where Dalton earned Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year honors both as a junior and senior. It culminated with a win over Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl on January 1, 2011. Dalton would go on to make the Pro Bowl three times (2011, 2014, 2016) during his time in Cincinnati.
