New England Patriots rumors: Pros and cons of signing Andy Dalton

Quarterback Andy Dalton has been released by the Cincinnati Bengals, and the New England Patriots have been named as a potential suitor for his services.

There has been plenty of speculation surrounding the New England Patriots in regards to their quarterback situation.

Many media outlets have linked the Patriots to a handful of veterans at the position, but so far they have not made any acquisitions other than bringing back Brian Hoyer in March and signing undrafted free agents J’Mar Smith and Brian Lewerke.

The only quarterback with any intrigue on the roster is Jarrett Stidham, who is currently the favorite to win the starting job. However, Hoyer signed with the Patriots due to the fact that they would let him compete for that role.

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Signing the recently released Andy Dalton would certainly spice that competition up. The New England Patriots have been viewed as a sensible destination for Dalton ever since Tom Brady took the flight to Tampa Bay.

Here’s what we know about Dalton as a player: He held down the starting quarterback job for nine years as a member of the Cincinnati Bengals, completing 62 percent of his passes and amassing 31,594 passing yards with 204 touchdowns to 118 interceptions in that span and was a part of five playoff appearances for the team, one of which he did not appear in due to a fractured thumb.

Despite success in the regular season early on in Dalton’s tenure, the Bengals always came up short in the postseason.

Due to the lack of playoff success, Dalton was on the end of criticism from fans both in Cincinnati and across the NFL landscape. His performance in the playoffs does dip significantly compared to how he plays in the regular season, as he has just one touchdown to six interceptions in four playoff games, all of which the Bengals lost.

When you consider the expectations that come with playing in New England, those numbers are a glaring red flag.

Even with Tom Brady gone, it’s not like the Patriots are expected to win two games and have a top pick in next year’s draft. Bill Belichick is still around, and as long as that is the case then we can expect this team to be competitive and win more often than not.

Sure, Dalton has proven that he can help a team win in the regular season, but something seems to change when the lights shine at their brightest.

The question is, is that entirely the fault of Dalton? Perhaps not, seeing as Marvin Lewis was Dalton’s head coach for most of his career and he is not exactly in the upper echelon of the NFL’s all-time coaching ranks.

Going from Marvin Lewis and Zac Taylor to Bill Belichick would certainly be a welcome change for Dalton, and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels could potentially do some solid work with an experienced veteran in an offense that is known to be complex.

Dalton has proven that he can play at a high level with a talented enough supporting cast. Many point to his 2015 season where he was playing like one of the top quarterbacks in football before his aforementioned thumb injury.

The problem with that is the fact that the New England Patriots don’t have a wide receiver group featuring A.J. Green and Marvin Jones, or a tight end as good as Tyler Eifert used to be when he was actually on the field.

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Andy Dalton would certainly be better competition for Jarett Stidham than Brian Hoyer, which is the main upside should the Patriots choose to sign him.

However, most fans would agree that going with an unknown commodity like Stidham in a season of uncertainty would at least be more interesting than winning around nine games with Dalton and watching the wheels fall off of him if the team were to reach the playoffs.

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