A season with the Chicago Bears later, the 34-year-old is again changing teams. According to ESPN insider Adam Schefter, Dalton is joining the Saints on a contract worth up to $6 million.
“Saints are signing former Bears’ QB Andy Dalton to a one-year deal worth up to $6 million, including $3 million guaranteed, per source,” Schefter Tweeted on March 29.
Dalton was going to end up somewhere, but New Orleans is an interesting option. The three-time Pro Bowler has yet to find a solid home after leaving the Cincinnati Bengals in 2020, and it seems like his newest destination isn’t committing to him as the starter either.
When the Cowboys signed Dalton in 2020, it made waves. Prescott was impressive in his first four years in the NFL, getting two Pro Bowl nods while going 40-24 as a starter, so adding Dalton on a decent-sized $7 million deal felt unnecessary.
But he ended up looking like a much-needed presence, as Dak missed every game after Week 5 and Dalton started 9 games. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to impress in his time in Dallas in either the stats or win column.
The Cowboys went 4-5 with Dalton as a starter, and the “Red Rifle” threw for 2170 yards and 14 touchdowns to eight interceptions. As Pro Football Reference shows, his 64.9% completion rate is initially impressive, before realizing he posted a mediocre 87.3 quarterback rating that season and only averaged 6.8 intended air yards per attempt.
Essentially, Dalton wasn’t explosive or throwing the ball downfield enough to make things happen. The former Bengals QB wasn’t awful, but didn’t reignite his career the way some expected in his first season away from Cincinnati.
Saints Likely Bringing Dalton In as Backup QB
With the Cowboys, Dalton was a backup. When he signed with the Chicago Bears, he was considered the starter but split time with then-rookie Justin Fields. Now in New Orleans, Dalton is the backup or, at best, a direct competitor to Jameis Winston for the starting gig.
If we’re looking purely at the money, Winston’s two-year, $28 million deal definitely makes him the starter. He’s also familiar in the New Orleans organization and it makes sense to give him the reins.
Taysom Hill, who has started as both a quarterback and tight end for the Saints, will be committing to the latter position this season per New Orleans head coach Dennis Allen. However, he is also a potential option in a worst-case scenario for the Saints.
Considering Winston has ridden the bench in Tampa and New Orleans before as well, it’s not impossible that Dalton gets a shot or two. However, he appears to be back where he started when he first left the Bengals for the Cowboys: a backup QB.
