Andy Dalton 6 years 115 million

[patsinthesnow]

@AdamSchefter: From me and Adam Caplan:
Cincinnati and Bengals QB Andy Dalton reached agreement on a 6-year, $115 million contract, per two sources.

 

[JMC00]

Well chances of Brady asking to re-do his deal for a pay increase just went up.

 

[Big-T]

LOL

Wait & see how much is guaranteed but what was the point in drafting McCarron?

 

[varjao]

I feel sorry for the Bengals fans.

 

[dales804]

LOL

Wait & see how much is guaranteed but what was the point in drafting McCarron?

For the new coach to develop after Lewis is eventually fired. Maybe Dalton will take another step this year, but I'm not banking on it. Of course, his offensive coordinator is now gone so maybe they'll actually open up the playbook instead of turtling if CIN makes it back to the playoffs.

 

[Brady'sButtBoy]

foolish to give him a contract so early in the year. Typical Bengals move I'd guess you'd say - sign up here for mediocrity.

 

[ausbacker]

Better the devil you know it would appear when approaching the subject of Quarterback.

 

[Deus Irae]

It's a Kaepernick type of deal. It's really a 2 year deal locked in, in terms of money and guarantees, and then becomes an easy break, according to NFL Network.

 

[Sicilian]

It's a Kaepernick type of deal. It's really a 2 year deal locked in, in terms of money and guarantees, and then becomes an easy break, according to NFL Network.

That makes some sense then, as after two years they'll know what they have in McCarron. I don't think Dalton is a terrible QB, but he's not going to get you to the promise land IMO, even with that defense. He strikes me as a Romo type: Can make some plays, but when the chips are down his biggest talent is finding a way to flub it up.

 

[Kontradiction]

Looks like an atrocious deal on the surface but, as has been noted, the Bengals have an escape option after two years. The downside is that they still have another two years of Dalton playing quarterback for them.

 

[VrabelJr]

At least Dalton has taken them to the playoffs three years in a row and he has gotten better year over year. I mean, Peyton Manning also has a lot of One-and-Done's in the playoffs on his resume.

 

[DaBruinz]

2 years at $25M guaranteed. Beyond that, the Bungles can cut Dalton at relatively no cost to themselves..

 

[SB39]

Posting the maximum length and maximum value of a contract is beyond worthless. I know it makes for great tweets and PTI conversation pieces, but it tells us absolutely nothing.

Realistically, this is a deal which ended his current contract and replaced it with one that is 3 years, $35 million or 4/48 or 5/61 depending on whether or not the Bengals want him that long. (I know what I said is not technically accurate but that is essentially how it all plays out)

 

[Wheelman]

Whatever the contract really is, the QB market is over-inflated. A lot of QB's are not worth the money they're getting.

 

[patchick]

Whatever the contract really is, the QB market is over-inflated. A lot of QB's are not worth the money they're getting.

...until you look at the alternatives.

I've said this before, but you just can't win when you have a 2nd/3rd-tier starting QB up for a new contract. The guy isn't a difference maker who will put you over the top, so you hate to tie up that much money in him. Yet without him you have no shot at all.

 

[Rob0729]

If Dalton's guarantees are only protected for injuries, does choking in the playoffs count as an injury?

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

2 years and can dump him after for little problems...not bad because he is not taking to the big game

 

[jmt57]

Whatever the contract really is, the QB market is over-inflated. A lot of QB's are not worth the money they're getting.

...until you look at the alternatives.

I've said this before, but you just can't win when you have a 2nd/3rd-tier starting QB up for a new contract. The guy isn't a difference maker who will put you over the top, so you hate to tie up that much money in him. Yet without him you have no shot at all.

I'm going to agree with patchick on this one.

What alternative do the Bengals - or for that matter, any NFL team in a somewhat similar situation - have?

Over the last several years, how many quarterbacks have hit free agency that you would be comfortable signing and confident that they would lead your team to the playoffs? Kurt Warner for Arizona in 2008, but that happened only due to the ineffectiveness of and then injury to Matt Leinart. There's Drew Brees with the Saints, but that was eight years ago at this point, and he was considered to be an injury risk.

As far as drafting a quarterback goes, Cincinnati's dilemma is that they have a good team, and therefore they are not going to have an early draft pick. On top of that, the track record for finding a franchise quarterback in the draft is not very appealing. Here are the quarterbacks that have been drafted in the first three rounds over the last few years. The numbers to the right of their names indicate their team's won-loss record in the regular season, and in the playoffs.

• 2013, 1.16 -- EJ Manuel ----------- 4-6 .... 0-0
• 2013, 2.39 -- Geno Smith --------- 8-8 .... 0-0
• 2013, 3.73 -- Mike Glennon ------- 4-9 .... 0-0

• 2012, 1.01 -- Andrew Luck ------ 22-10 .. 1-2
• 2012, 1.02 -- Robert Griffin ----- 12-16 .. 0-1
• 2012, 1.08 -- Ryan Tannehill ----- 15-17 .. 0-0
• 2012, 1.22 -- Brandon Weeden -- 5-15 ... 0-0
• 2012, 2.57 -- Brock Osweiler ----- 0-0 .... 0-0
• 2012, 3.75 -- Russell Wilson ------ 24-8 ... 4-1
• 2012, 3.88 -- Nick Foles --------- 9-7 ..... 0-1

• 2011, 1.01 -- Cam Newton ------ 25-23 .. 0-1
• 2011, 1.08 -- Jake Locker ------- 8-10 ... 0-0
• 2011, 1.10 -- Blaine Gabbert ---- 5-22 ... 0-0
• 2011, 1.12 -- Christian Ponder -- 14-20-1 . 0-0
• 2011, 2.35 -- Andy Dalton ------- 30-18 .. 0-3
• 2011, 2.36 -- Colin Kaepernick -- 17-6 ... 4-2
• 2011, 3.74 -- Ryan Mallett ------- 0-0 .... 0-0

• 2010, 1.01 -- Sam Bradford ----- 18-30-1 . 0-0
• 2010, 1.25 -- Tim Tebow --------- 8-6 ... 1-1
• 2010, 2.48 -- Jimmy Clausen ----- 1-9 ... 0-0
• 2010, 3.85 -- Colt McCoy --------- 6-15 ... 0-0

• 2009, 1.01 -- Matt Stafford ------ 24-37 ... 0-1
• 2009, 1.05 -- Mark Sanchez ------ 33-29 ... 4-2
• 2009, 1.17 -- Josh Freeman ------ 24-36 .. 0-0
• 2009, 2.44 -- Pat White ----------- 0-0 .... 0-0

 

[meatface]

Not a lot of guaranteed money so no big deal for Cincinnati, I doubt they would find a guy in the next two years who be an upgrade at QB