The combination of Dre Kirkpatrick’s release and most of the quarterback vacancies around the NFL filled leads to a singular idea — the Jacksonville Jaguars might be the last realistic trade partner for the Cincinnati Bengals when it comes to Andy Dalton.
Kirkpatrick getting cut moved the focus to Dalton so it’s time to revisit the Jaguars. Back on January 22 we wrote about Dalton reuniting with Jaguars offensive coordinator Jay Gruden.
The idea now seems more logical than ever.
Gruden helped bring Dalton into the leauge and got some of his best seasons out of him before moving on to coach in Washington. He’s now in Jacksonville and probably wouldn’t mind having a player of Dalton’s caliber to compete with Gardner Minshew.
Besides the Gruden connection, most of the other quarterback landing spots dyring up fuels this idea. Chicago went for Nick Foles. New England seems content to keep things in-house. Somewhere like Carolina went for Teddy Bridgewater and former MVP Cam Newton remains on the market.
Money could be a problem in any trade. While Dalton’s roughly $17 million isn’t guaranteed and makes him a rental, teams might want to avoid paying the price there and instead wait for Dalton to hit the open market when the Bengals end up cutting him.
The Bengals might hold out on a Dalton move until well into the summer seeking out a team that gets very desperate. Gruden getting in the Jaguars’ ear about securing him might be the only thing to move the needle now.
