Former Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton said the delayed timing of his release did him no favors in his bid to join another team.
“This year there were a good amount of quarterbacks that were available,” Dalton, 32, told the Bengals’ official website in a story published Friday night. “I think it would have worked out differently if I had been a free agent when the new league year started. I was still under contract and that hurt me.”
Dalton was due to earn $17.7 million in 2020, the final season of a six-year contract extension he signed in August 2014.
He was released on Thursday after nine seasons in Cincinnati. The move was expected following a 2-14 finish in 2019 that brought the Bengals the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. Cincinnati drafted Dalton’s replacement, Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow out of LSU, with the No. 1 pick in April.
“I’m sure teams knew they (the Bengals) were going to take a quarterback No. 1 and they would release me and there was no reason to rush into anything,” Dalton said.
Dalton ranks first in franchise history in touchdown passes (204) and second in passing yards (31,594). The three-time Pro Bowl selection started 133 of the Bengals’ 144 regular-season games over the past nine seasons and had a 70-61-2 record.
His longtime coach in Cincinnati, Marvin Lewis, had only praise for Dalton in an interview Friday with Pro Football Talk.
“Wherever he ends up,” Lewis said of Dalton, “he’ll be an asset.”
Lewis continued: “He’s extremely smart, prepared, ready to go.”
