Buffalo Bills should consider adding Andy Dalton if released

If Andy Dalton is released, the Buffalo Bills should consider adding the veteran quarterback to backup Josh Allen.

The “Red Rifle” Andy Dalton could be on his way out of Cincinnati as Dan Patrick, host of the Dan Patrick Show, reported. If this happens, the Buffalo Bills should think about signing him.

On Wednesday morning Patrick announced that he reached out to a source close to the Bengals organization asking them what happens to Dalton if the team selected LSU quarterback Joe Burrow. In response, his source disclosed that: “When they draft Burrow, I think they’re cutting Andy Dalton,” Patrick said Wednesday’s show.

“What will happen with Dalton, Newton and even Jameis Winston is after training camp-if there is a training camp- somebody will sign them,” Patrick added.

If true, Dalton will become another reputable name to hit the free-agent market among the other aforementioned quarterbacks who are looking for their next home.

For Dalton, Buffalo could present itself as an extremely interesting location. That is if Dalton would consider becoming a backup to help the franchise off the field, a role Dalton has never been asked to fill.

For the past eight years, Dalton has served as the Bengals starting quarterback and found a way to succeed, to a degree, given the amount of talent he had around him in years prior. For his career, he has recorded 31,594 passing yards, 204 touchdowns and a completion percentage of 62% with four playoff appearances and three Pro Bowl selections. Given the package that comes with Dalton, his veteran experience could be exactly what Buffalo needs to help Josh Allen take the next step.

Since being drafted, Allen has yet to be “taken under the wing” of an experienced quarterback who can help him see the game from a different set of eyes.

In his draft year, Sam Darnold had journeyman quarterback Josh McCowan and Josh Rosen had Sam Bradford. Josh Allen on the other hand, had a band of misfit toys in Nathan Peterman, Derek Anderson and Matt Barkley, all of who do not necessarily check the box when it comes to experience and success.

Currently, there has been some chatter about the Bills addressing their backup quarterback position in next week’s draft. Reportedly on their radar, according to multiple sources including Yahoo sports reporter Eric Edholm, is FIU’s James Morgan. This comes on the heel of Matt Barkley’s performance last season with the Bills as he proved to not be the solution to the backup position.

The 29-year old has bounced around the league but never truly competed for a starting position. In his six-year career, Barkley had previous stops with the Eagles and Bears before landing with the Bills in 2018. He has 10 career touchdowns among 21 career interceptions. For that reason alone, the Bills should add a proven quarterback who knows how to take care of the ball rather than selecting a young quarterback through the draft and would need time allocated to him to develop.

Not only would the addition of Dalton make him an instant fan-favorite after he defeated the Baltimore Ravens to allow the Bills to clinch a playoff spot in 2017 but his presence would increase Allen’s performance. This is due to the reason that there would be another starting caliber quarterback on the team if Allen were unable to progress.

In theory, this would give Allen a reason to want to continue to make those necessary steps forward as the team is surging towards the playoffs cannot afford to make any mistakes while their Super Bowl window is open.