The Cincinnati Bengals made it known at the Senior Bowl that they’ll do right by Andy Dalton this offseason, likely via trade.
A new report confirmed the Bengals have communicated to Dalton that they’ll work with him on a trade.
The Bengals front office wants to make sure they ship Dalton to a place he’s comfortable with, which likely means a potential contender with a surefire chance to start. These are some of the best destinations fitting that idea.
Los Angeles Chargers
The Philip Rivers era is over and the Chargers are open for business at quarterback.
Dalton could have a fun time out west with the receiving tandem of Keenan Allen and Mike Williams, not to mention the tandem of Justin Jackson and Austin Ekeler out of the backfield. Remember, the Chargers were a 12-win team as recently as 2018.
This keeps Dalton in the AFC, which isn’t ideal for the Bengals. But if doing right trumps all potential gains here, it’s hard to hate the idea of the Chargers.
Indianapolis Colts
Look how quickly things can change in the NFL.
Andrew Luck is gone and Jacoby Brissett largely faceplanted as a starter for the Colts, which has Cincinnati’s longrunning preseason partner looking for help.
There, Dalton would get to work with Frank Reich and work with a target like T.Y. Hilton. Given the absurd amount of assets and past aggressiveness, the Colts would attempt to put a winner around Dalton for a year or more.
Again, bad news in the AFC, but it’d fulfill the Bengals’ mission for Dalton.
Tennessee Titans
Do the Titans want to ruin a good thing?
Tennessee shocked on the way to a memorable playoff run with Ryan Tannehill. Both he and Marcus Mariota are free agents. If it doesn’t work for some reason — or the coaches view Dalton as an upgrade — a deal might be possible.
If so, Dalton walks onto a fast-rising team with Derrick Herny in the backfield (if they bring him back) and a wicked A.J. Brown-Corey Davis-Adam Humphries trio at wideout.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Work with us for a second.
The Buccaneers aren’t the most prestigious franchise and haven’t made the playoffs since 2007. Right. Right.
However, competent quarterbacking can change many things. Dalton in Tampa Bay would mean a pairing with offensive guru Bruce Arians. And it would mean he gets to play with an offense stacked with a silly amount of weapons, headlined by Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, O.J. Howard and Cameron Brate.
Yes, the offensive line needs work and yes, Tampa Bay is a tough sell. But the Buccaneers quietly squeaked out seven wins last year, have a top-15 pick and have $85 million in cap space.
Chicago Bears
The Bears are perhaps the most obvious destination.
Chicago has got to be tired of waiting on Mitchell Trubisky at this point, especially after regressing from 12 to eight wins this past season.
While Chicago doesn’t have the flashiest set of weapons flanking the quarterback and the offensive line needs help, it’s Matt Nagy’s attack that makes weapons like Allen Robinson, Anthony Miller, David Montgomery and Tarik Cohen effective and interesting.
This would effectively ship Dalton out of conference too, which could always help.
New England Patriots
This one can’t really go unsaid, can it?
While the current standoff between Tom Brady and the Patriots simply feels like contractual posturing, if the future Hall of Famer ends of retiring or leaving, Dalton could make some sense as a stopgap.
The Patriots and Bengals, after all, have a longrunning history of deals. New England’s storied history and Bill Belichick himself don’t need any explanation.
While perhaps the most unlikely scenario here, it’d be the one perhaps likeliest to get Dalton his first career playoff win.
