Given the Bears’ limited options for fixing their exasperating quarterback situation, three-time Pro Bowl player Andy Dalton is worth a shot.
Dalton has been with the Bengals for nine seasons, and no one seems to be able to decide whether he’s good. The Bears might be headed down that same path with Mitch Trubisky.
But Dalton is available as the Bengals eye a quarterback with the No. 1 overall pick, and NFL Network reported Sunday that the team is working with his agent to find a landing spot that he likes.
“We’re not going to just willy-nilly make something happen with him that he’s uncomfortable with,” Bengals general manager Duke Tobin said on the “Rapsheet + Friends” podcast.
Dalton probably won’t find a better opportunity than the one at Halas Hall, though he also has been mentioned as a possibility for the Patriots if Tom Brady leaves.
The Bears are an attractive situation for any veteran quarterback seeking a new home. They’ve had a Super Bowl-caliber defense the last two seasons, a host of impressive skill players and former quarterback Matt Nagy running the show. They also just hired Dalton’s former coach, Bill Lazor, as offensive coordinator.
The only thing standing between anyone and the starting job is a fledgling quarterback who finished 28th in passer rating and last in yards per attempt last season.
That said, there’s no guarantee Dalton will be better than Trubisky. He’s 32, he has never been elite and his last three seasons illustrate why the Bengals are eager to draft his successor: 60.3 completion percentage, 62 touchdowns, 37 interceptions and an 84.2 passer rating in 40 games.
If Trubisky was maddening last season, keep in mind that Dalton’s 78.3 rating was rock bottom among qualifying passers.
But he’s available and cheap, two factors that are essential for the Bears with tight salary-cap space and few draft picks.
It’s difficult to imagine the Bengals getting more than a late-round pick for Dalton, and they might be flexible about eating some of the $17.7 million on his contract for next season. It’s the final year of his deal and none of the money is guaranteed, so the Bengals will almost certainly cut him before June 1 for the savings if they can’t trade him.
The mere sniffing around of Dalton is the first sign that Bears general manager Pace grasps reality, though, and is unwilling to bet the 2020 season — and his employment — on Trubisky. There’s a big difference between trading for someone like Dalton and bringing in a clear backup like Chase Daniel was, and the Bears wouldn’t bother with Dalton unless they were ready to hold a legitimate competition for the job.
