The Cincinnati Bengals were never going into 2020 with Andy Dalton’s $17.7 million cap hit on the books after drafting Joe Burrow.
While talk about Dalton serving as a mentor to Burrow was worth exploring, the reality is Dalton had made it clear last season when he got benched that he wanted out so he could go compete for a starting job elsewhere.
The Bengals granted that wish Thursday with Dalton’s release, clearing his non-guaranteed $17.7 million from the books. According to Spotrac, that leaves the team with roughly $25.7 million in cap space.
Keep in mind that number is before the Bengals dole out contracts to rookies with Joe Burrow leading the way about $6.5 million in 2020.
The number will fluctuate from here as the Bengals make moves over the summer. But for as much as this offseason was about spending big on free agents, it was also about trimming the fat — big contracts belonging to Dalton and Dre Kirkpatrick are off the books, leaving A.J. Green, Geno Atkins and Carlos Dunlap as the team’s three biggest cap hits and the only above five percent of the total cap.
Speaking of Green, the next monetary matters facing the Bengals are an extension with him, as well as pondering the futures of Joe Mixon and John Ross.
