Who Dey Nation…I wanted to create a forum post to discuss our boy Andy, to extend the conversation from part of the discussion that was going on within Spartan13’s weekly mock draft post.  Instead of it getting lost within there, I figured it was worthy of its own thread.

Last week we heard that the Bengals were possibly shopping a trade involving Andy Dalton.  The official statement was something along the lines of they are “willing to work with Andy to find a good fit”.  First off, to me that’s non-committal that a trade is imminent, as they may come to the conclusion that the best fit is to keep Andy on the team.  Also, IMO it once again shows that the Bengals are willing to be overtly loyal to players who they really owe nothing to whatsoever.  Good for them to be solid employers and choose to “do right” by Andy and not just sell him to the highest bidder.  But it’s another example of the franchise not putting the best interest of the team first, and being ok with not maximizing their own opportunities for future success.

Ok, got that out of the way.  Now to the actual discussion.  I’m thinking IF they’re going to find a trade partner for Dalton, it would have to be an OK-ish team that is willing to make the trade in order to get Dalton and not risk competing with other teams in free agency when Dalton could choose the best situation for himself.  So maybe those teams would be willing to take on Dalton either as a bridge while they nurture a young QB, or as a game-manager type if the rest of the team is solid enough to be a playoff contender. 

I personally think the best the Bengals could expect to get for him would be a 4th round pick.

So with that in mind, here are a couple possible “fits” I could see happening, along with some qualifiers for each:

• CHARGERS:  Moving on from Rivers, possibly drafting a QB round 1 (Herbert?).  This would be the “bridge” role for Dalton.  Could definitely see Andy dumping off to Ekeler in the flat and handing the ball to Gordon.
• BEARS:  IF the Bears are ready to move on from Trubisky, Dalton could be the “game manager” of a team with a solid defense, maybe similar to Trent Dilfer with the Ravens way back when.
• COLTS: Not so sure about this one, but I’ve heard the Colts aren’t fan of Brissett moving forward.  I don’t think Andy is an upgrade, but as far as teams that may need just a decent QB and not a whole lot else, here you go?
• JAGUARS: I’m pretty much including this because the Jags are basically a warm(ish) weather version of the Bengals.  Not sure if they’re moving on from Foles, but maybe if Andy is so used to being surrounded by less-than-stellar infrastructure from top to bottom, he might as well make a stop un “sunny” Jacksonvillle for a few years before retirement.  Plus London game works with his skin tone (I’m a red-head too so I’m allowed to go there haha)

Now for the one that will blow some minds, but might actually make the most sense if things fall the way I’m thinking…

• STEELERS (wtf?!?!?):  Of course this would be completely weird and is probably totally unimaginable as a potential landing spot.  I’d say the Steelers are probably more aware of Dalton’s strength/weaknesses than any other franchise (including the Bengals).  However, here are the reasons my head is spinning that this could actually be a possibility (all big IFs):
  • The big IF is this one…IF the Steelers determine that Big Ben is not able to come back healthy from his injury, and he’s done as a starting QB, then Dalton would be an upgrade from Mason Rudolph.
  • The Steelers have a solid defense as usual, and tend to develop their skill players on offense and the O-line is always satisfactory.
  • They don’t have a first round pick, and only have a 2nd rounder, two 4ths, a 6th, and a 7th.
  • The Steelers don’t “tank” so IF Big Ben is done, I don’t see them sacrificing a season with Rudolph at QB in order to get a good pick in 2021.
  • Therefore, I could see them taking a developmental QB (Eason? Fromm? Jalen Hurts?) in round 2, and then give up one of the 4th rounders to trade for Dalton.

For each of these teams, I have no idea what their draft needs are, so it’s no more well-thought out than what I saw as I looked over the standings from last year while enjoying my morning cup of coffee.  But each of these makes at least a little sense.  And as I count, in my mind there are 23 other teams that definitely are NOT going to trade for him.  The others I didn’t address here are the Dolphins, Lions, Bucs, and Panthers.  But each of those I don’t see as much of a chance as a trade partner.

What are your thoughts on the above?  What are your other possible teams to trade with?  Did you puke in your mouth a little with the Steelers stuff?