INDIANAPOLIS – The annual trip up I-74 to Indianapolis typically results in three things: Booze consumption, biting winds and learning about the desires of the most important elements of restructuring the roster.
All three were in abundance at the NFL Scouting Combine/Speculation Festival this week.
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That revolved around the quarterback room for the Bengals.
The easy and most important part came Tuesday when Joe Burrow put speculation to rest and the two sides went public with their engagement. Save the Date cards for April 23 should be sent out to the other 31 teams this week.
Burrow will be the pick, he will be the starter immediately and they hope in that position for the next couple decades, barring something insane happening over the next few months.
What happens with everyone else connected to the Bengals quarterback position also is becoming focused.
The market for Andy Dalton is starting to come together.
Our Lindsay Jones reported Thursday one GM thought Dalton could land a second- or third-round pick. A two would be a stunning windfall and a three should make the Bengals jump for joy.
There are a couple reasons to believe in the desire of teams to give up valued assets for Dalton instead of riding the quarterback carousel of free agency.
One, yes, you are taking on $17.7 million in 2020, but his contract is actually quite a desirable asset. Most of the free-agent quarterbacks won’t be looking for one-year deals. If you are looking for a bridge guy to draft a quarterback of the future next year or developing someone from this draft or currently on the roster, having the one year is more important than taking on the $17.7 million. Also, none of that money is guaranteed, so you could always let go of Dalton before the season started (unlikely any team trading for him would do that, but it’s there).
Two, if Tom Brady does bolt the Patriots as many believe will happen, that produces two very logical suitors in trade talks for Dalton. The first and most obvious is the Bears, who have been in touch with the Bengals on the topic. If looking to give “competition” to Mitch Trubisky, Dalton would be just that. His contract is a decent number, but it’s digestible when you have Trubisky still on a rookie deal.
More importantly, if looking for your version of Ryan Tannehill, reuniting Dalton with his former offensive coordinator Bill Lazor (now Bears OC) would be a snug fit. Remember, they were 5-3 together with a historically awful defense at the break in 2018 before everyone got injured. The only problem being Chicago doesn’t have many draft assets. They have picks at 43 and 50 and nothing else before 162. They’d prefer to call the Bengals’ bluff knowing the club would eventually have to release Dalton to avoid taking on his contract. Having another team in a bidding war for a trade would drive up the price and take waiting it out off the table.
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The Patriots would be looking for a bridge quarterback and an intelligent football junkie with a history of winning games with quality defenses helping to support him is a logical fit. Plus, Cincinnati and New England have a trade history. Corey Dillon and Chad Ochocinco have notably been dealt to Foxboro as established veterans. The Patriots have some assets as well, expected to have three third-round selections thanks to compensatory picks, but also could deal a veteran player if they are looking to rebuild (Dont’a Hightower, anyone?).
The Bengals would prefer to get a Dalton trade done sooner than later, but everyone is waiting on the Brady domino to fall before making a move. It’s a win for the Bengals if he leaves Bill Belichick.
So, what will become of the backup quarterback situation once Dalton is eventually dealt? A thought exists you should grab a veteran backup to assist in the development of the rookie QB. The impression I was given this week was that won’t be the case. It sounds like the Bengals prefer to stick with Ryan Finley and Jake Dolegala behind Burrow.
More on those two later.
How necessary is a veteran backup? The Bengals see all the former quarterbacks and coaches on staff as a bonus in teaching Burrow how to be a pro. Duke Tobin played quarterback, Zac Taylor played quarterback, Dan Pitcher played quarterback and offensive coordinator Brian Callahan came up as a quarterbacks coach.
Pitcher, Callahan and Taylor are all in their early-to-mid 30s. It comes down to this, would you rather put the $4 million or so it would take to land a veteran backup quarterback like 35-year-old Matt Moore (who is older than Pitcher and basically the same age as Callahan and Taylor) or see that money put toward a cornerback, linebacker or offensive lineman in free agency?
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As for what the top quarterbacks in recent drafts have had behind them, there’s not some collection of wise sages taking on the mentorship role.
Here are the rookie year backups for the first QB taken in the draft the last seven years. Nearly all were castoffs in their 20s with very little positive starting experience.
- 2019 – Kyler Murray. Brett Hundley, 26
- 2018 – Baker Mayfield. Tyrod Taylor, 29
- 2017 – Mitch Trubisky. Mike Glennon, 28
- 2016 – Jared Goff. Case Keenum, 28
- 2015 – Jameis Winston. Mike Glennon, 26
- 2014 – Blake Bortles. Chad Henne, 29
- 2012 – Andrew Luck. Drew Stanton, 28
Someone who would make the most sense could be former Bengals backup AJ McCarron. His intangibles and confidence are similar to the reputation for Burrow in that area and might make for a nice combo.
The most likely scenario, however, is they continue to develop Finley, who they traded up to acquire in the fourth round last year.
Finley famously flopped in his three-game stint as the starter.
Sidenote: We can all agree the decision to start Finley for those three games goes down as the best decision of the Zac Taylor Era now that the three losses delivered Burrow.
Coaches still believe in Finley. He wasn’t ready to play last year, clearly. But they hope a year of finding comfort can deliver a quality backup more like the one they saw in preseason than the disaster for three games against Oakland, Pittsburgh and Baltimore.
Also, intrigue exists over Dolegala, who impressed enough to keep on the roster. They didn’t get to see much of anything from him during the year, limited to a few scout team reps. But this offseason they’ll be interested in seeing if the strong arm and pocket presence of the 6-foot-7 Central Connecticut State star benefits from a year of studying this NFL offense.
Dolegala could certainly beat out Finley for the backup job. Or Finley could put together another solid preseason as he did last year where he completed 73.4 percent of his passes for 6.5 yards per attempt.
The idea of keeping three quarterbacks again – something most teams have not done in recent years – could become much more popular under the new CBA. If it passes, the provision to expand the rosters to 55 and allow more flexibility moving players between the expanded practice squad and the active roster could lend itself to more teams having room for a developmental third quarterback.
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For all these reasons and a week’s worth of conversations here in Indianapolis, the outcome that looks extremely likely would be a quarterback room of Burrow-Finley-Dolegala with Dalton dealt to Chicago to reunite with Lazor in an attempt to replicate what Tannehill did for the Titans last year.
(Top image: David Kohl / USA TODAY Sports)