Bengals Won’t Look To Sign Veteran QB
The Bengals aren’t looking to sign another veteran quarterback to play behind No. 1 overall pick Joe Burrow, head coach Zac Taylor says. “We’re set,” Taylor said. (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Ben Baby). 
After the draft, the Bengals parted ways with longtime starter Andy Dalton after months of fruitless attempts to trade him. For months, Dalton said that he was focused on playing as a QB1 in 2020. He eased up on that stance this spring, but it’s not clear whether he was willing to take enough of a pay cut in Cincinnati to make that work, or whether the Bengals even made him a realistic offer. Ultimately, Dalton found a vibrant market for his services once he was let go – the Patriots, Jaguars, and Jets all considered the veteran before he joined up with the Cowboys (while he backstops Dak Prescott, Dalton says he’ll be aiming to start in 2021).
For now, the Bengals have Ryan Finley and 2019 UDFA Jacob Dolegala as the backups behind Burrow. Finley, a fourth-round pick last year, posted a dismal 47.1% completion rate with an average of 5.4 yards per attempt in three starts. After that, the Bengals turned things back over to Dalton, who at least got to leave Cincinnati as a first-stringer in his final game.
Burrow – who completed 76.3% of his passes for an NCAA-record 60 touchdowns last year with only six interceptions – will be expected to carry the load in his first pro season.
North Notes: Griffen, Robinson, Bengals
Everson Griffen is one of the top two pass rushers still on the market, and we heard last month that he would probably not re-sign with the Vikings. However, Minnesota did not do much to add to its pass rushing corps in the draft, with South Carolina DE D.J. Wonnum representing the most notable addition. And while GM Rick Spielman acknowledged that his team’s cap space makes it difficult to bring Griffen back, he did not rule it out.
“It is hard to say right now where everything is at and where we are at, [but] until things become more normalized I will never say never on a player,” Spielman recently said on the #PFTPM podcast (via PFT’s Mike Florio). “[Y]our roster is never set.”
Griffen has expressed an interest in joining the Seahawks, but Seattle is still open to bringing back Jadeveon Clowney. If Clowney returns to the ‘Hawks, perhaps Griffen will settle for a one-year deal on a Minnesota defense that he will not have to learn on the fly.
Now for more from the league’s north divisions:
- Of the three OTs the Vikings added in this year’s draft, only second-rounder Ezra Cleveland profiles as an immediate threat to incumbent LT Riley Reiff. The team could again entertain the notion of kicking Reiff inside to LG, but that’s only if Cleveland proves himself ready for starting left tackle duties, which would be a tall order given the COVID-19 restrictions. So as Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune suggests, Reiff will likely stay at LT for the time being, and 2019 fourth-rounder Dru Samia will compete with Pat Elflein for the starting LG slot. The team could also target a free agent for that role, including Josh Kline, whom the Vikings released in a cost-cutting move in March.
- Bears WR Allen Robinson said towards the end of last season that he is interested in an extension with Chicago, but the two sides do not appear to be close to a new deal, per Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. Robinson is ticketed for free agency after the 2020 campaign, and Biggs suggests that the franchise tag could be in play if there is no extension in place by the second month of the season.
- Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic says both A.J. Green and the Bengals have interest in getting a long-term deal done, but it’s unclear exactly how much interest. He expects that nothing will come together prior to the July 15 deadline, which means Green will have to play out the 2020 season on his franchise tender. While there’s a better chance Cincinnati comes to terms with RB Joe Mixon on a new contract, that will not happen before a decision on Green is made. The Bengals are reportedly bracing themselves for a Mixon holdout.
- In the same piece linked above, Dehner says the Bengals are unlikely to make any free agent additions to the O-line at this point. In a separate piece, he notes that Cincinnati made a free agent splash on cornerbacks in free agency because it did not like this year’s CB draft class. The team did not take a defensive back with any of its seven selections.
Bengals To Decline John Ross’ Fifth-Year Option
This won’t come as much of a surprise, but the Bengals have declined wide receiver John Ross‘ fifth-year option. Ross will therefore become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2020 season.
As a 2017 draft choice, Ross’ fifth-year option would have been guaranteed for injury only, but given his injury history, that was not a gamble Cincinnati was willing to take. Plus, as a top-10 pick in the 2017 draft, Ross’ option would have been worth a whopping $15.68MM, which would not have made sense for the team even if Ross had managed to stay completely healthy throughout his first three years in the league.
The Washington product was brought in to serve as a speed merchant and to add some sizzle to a passing offense that had become a middling unit despite the presence of A.J. Green. That did not happen. Instead, he failed to impress head coach Marvin Lewis in training camp in 2017, and between injuries and generally uninspiring play in practice, Ross played in only three games as a rookie and did not record a catch.
Though he started 10 games in 2018, he managed only 21 catches for 210 yards — which was a disappointment in terms of both overall output and yards-per-catch average — and after a hot start to 2019, he missed another eight games due to injury. The Bengals selected promising Clemson product Tee Higgins with the first pick of the second round in this year’s draft, and they are clearly preparing for life without Ross (which will probably look strikingly similar to life with Ross).
Latest On QB Andy Dalton, Bengals
Before he was released earlier this week, there was some optimism that Andy Dalton would land in Chicago. As Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic writes, the Bengals “were very close” to trading the veteran quarterback to the Bears back in March, and Dalton himself believed that’d be his ultimate landing spot.
Instead, Chicago shifted focus to Nick Foles, sending a fourth-rounder to the Jaguars for the former Super Bowl MVP. When the Bengals/Bears trade broke down, Cincy’s front office quickly discovered that they didn’t have any trade options for Dalton. As Dehner writes, two potential suitors, the Colts and Buccaneers, solved their quarterback issues via free agency, and rival front offices soon realized that the Bengals weren’t going to retain Dalton’s pricey cap hit.
Dalton believes the waiting game ended up hurting his chances of finding an ideal landing spot.
“There were several different factors,” Dalton told Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. “This year there were a good amount of quarterbacks that were available. I think it would have worked out differently if I had been a free agent when the new league year started. I was still under contact and that hurt me. I’m sure teams knew they were going to take a quarterback No. 1 and they would release me and there was no reason to rush into anything.”
With the Bengals zeroing in on LSU’s Joe Burrow with the first-overall pick, Dalton recently approached president Mike Brown, director of player personnel Duke Tobin, and head coach Zac Taylor for clarity. Ultimately, the organization decided to simply release the 32-year-old.
While Dalton opines that the waiting game impacted his ability to find a new team, it sounds like he may still have some options. We heard earlier this week that the Jaguars and Patriots could be among the teams interested in the veteran quarterback.
Minor NFL Transactions: 5/1/20
Today’s minor moves:
Cincinnati Bengals
- Re-signed: DT Josh Tupou
New York Giants
- Waived: DE Kevin Wilkins
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: DL Treyvon Hester
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: S Ibraheim Campbell
Bengals To Release Andy Dalton
The Bengals are releasing veteran quarterback Andy Dalton, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Dalton asked the Bengals to release him, tweets Tom Pelissero of NFL.com.
Dalton had been on the trade block for the entirety of the offseason, as Cincinnati knew it would be replacing the nine-year starter with No. 1 overall pick Joe Burrow, whom the Bengals officially drafted last week. While the Bengals discussed a Dalton deal with the Bears in February (and may have spoken with other clubs), they were never able to unload the 32-year-old in exchange for draft capital.
Although Dalton indicated earlier this month that a “scenario” existed in which he’d return to Cincinnati, it never seemed likely that the Bengals would carry his $17.7MM salary for 2020. And that salary likely halted any potential trade talks, as well. The Bengals could have — and may — offered to pay down some of Dalton’s salary before trading him, but that may not have been enticing enough to other clubs to facilitate a deal.
Now that he’s on the free agent market, Dalton enters an NFL landscape without many starting quarterback jobs available. Looking around the league, the two teams that still may have somewhat open quarterback competitions are the Jaguars (who employ one of Dalton’s former offensive coordinators in Jay Gruden) and the Patriots. Of course, other veterans such as Cam Newton and Joe Flacco are also still available and could compete for those same roles.
A second-round pick in the 2011 draft, Dalton led the Bengals to five consecutive playoff appearances to begin his career. However, Cincinnati never won a postseason game in any of those five seasons, and the club hasn’t returned to the playoffs since. In 2015, Dalton was playing at a near-MVP level before fracturing his thumb in a December game against the Steelers, but he didn’t match that pace in any of the next four years.
For the Bengals, releasing Dalton not only affirms Burrow’s position as the club’s Week 1 starter, but gives them $17.7MM in additional cap space. The free agent market is largely picked over at this point, but Cincinnati now has extra cash on hand for extensions for A.J. Green and/or Joe Mixon.
Bengals Sign 10 UDFAs
This week, the Bengals brought 10 undrafted rookies into the fold:
- Tyler Clark, DT (Georgia)
- Clay Cordasco, G (Oregon State)
- Trey Dishon, DT (Kansas State)
- Kendall Futrell, DE (East Carolina)
- Josh Knipfel, OT (Iowa State)
- Marcel Spears Jr., LB (Iowa State)
- Isiah Swann, CB (Dartmouth)
- Scotty Washington, WR (Wake Forest)
- Devwah Whaley, RB (Arkansas)
- Mitchell Wilcox, TE (South Florida)
Dishon started 50 games at Kansas State, while Futtrell registered 11 sacks last season despite weighing just 222 pounds. The Bengals revealed they view him as either an edge rusher or an off-ball linebacker. Swann, who hails from owner Mike Brown‘s alma mater, was a Division I-FCS All-American. He intercepted nine passes in 2018.
Washington joins Auden Tate as 6-foot-5 Bengals wide receivers; he is coming off a season marred by a broken ankle. Wilcox totaled 71 receptions for 890 yards between his junior and senior seasons. The Bengals did not draft a tight end and let Tyler Eifert walk in free agency, perhaps opening a path for Wilcox to join C.J. Uzomah and 2019 second-rounder Drew Sample on the regular-season roster.
Five Teams Tried To Claim Austin Calitro
Austin Calitro is a popular guy. The Broncos, Browns, Jets, and Raiders all tried to claim the linebacker after he was waived by the Jaguars, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. Ultimately, they all lost out to the Bengals, who had the league’s worst record last year and top priority on the waiver wire.
[RELATED: Bengals Claim Samaje Perine]
The Bengals were happy to welcome Calitro, who suited up in 13 games (including four starts) for the Jaguars last year. He’s got a solid chance of making the roster, where he could see his time split between defense and special teams. If he doesn’t make the cut, it’s a safe bet that at least a couple of these clubs will come calling.
Last year, Calitro registered 40 tackles and a sack while serving as a key special teams contributor for Jacksonville. Over the last two years, he’s logged 432 snaps in the third facet of the game.
Bengals Notes: Dalton, Ross
- The draft came and went, and the Bengals were unable to find any takers for Andy Dalton. They’ve been trying to trade their former starting quarterback for a while, and Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic thinks they will end up releasing him shortly after failing to unload him over the weekend. It looks like Cincy is about to finally give up on trading Dalton and the nearly $18MM he’s owed for 2020. We heard shortly before the draft that the Bengals hadn’t ruled out keeping him, but that was likely just a ploy to try to keep his trade value alive. The game of quarterback musical chairs has pretty much ended, and there aren’t many teams out there still looking for a veteran signal-caller. The Patriots have been rumored as an option, and it’ll be very interesting to see where Dalton ends up signing once he gets released. The Colts apparently sniffed around before opting to sign Philip Rivers.
- Speaking of the Bengals, the draft also spelled bad news for receiver John Ross. Dehner writes that the selection of former Clemson receiver Tee Higgins at the top of the second-round “does pretty much confirm this will be Ross’ last year in Cincinnati.” The Bengals drafted Ross ninth overall in 2017, and his career got off to a very bumpy start. Injuries limited him to only three games and zero catches as a rookie, and he had only 210 yards in 2018. This past season he got off to a torrid start, racking up 270 yards and three touchdowns in the first two weeks of the season. He cooled off quickly after that though, and ended up missing another eight games due to injury. He finished with 506 yards in eight games, but the progress apparently still didn’t inspire much confidence within the organization. The Bengals will have to decide this week whether or not to pick up Ross’ fifth-year option for 2021, and Dehner makes it sound like that isn’t too likely.
Bengals Claim RB Samaje Perine, LB Austin Calitro
The Bengals have claimed RB Samaje Perine and LB Austin Calitro off waivers, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Perine had been waived by the Dolphins, and Calitro had been waived by the Jaguars.
It will be a reunion between Cincinnati and Perine. The Bengals claimed the Oklahoma product off waivers from the Redskins last September, but he saw just five offensive snaps for the team before he was waived. He cleared waivers and was re-signed to the Bengals’ practice squad, but the Dolphins plucked him off the p-squad towards the end of the season.
Washington selected Perine in the fourth round of the 2017 draft, and he generated some buzz in his rookie campaign, compiling 603 yards and a score (albeit with a modest 3.4 YPC average). Since then, though, he has managed a grand total of 13 carries. But the Bengals did not pick up a running back in this year’s draft, and as Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic tweets, Cincinnati believes Perine has some untapped potential. He will compete for snaps behind former Sooner teammate Joe Mixon and current RB2 Giovani Bernard.
Calitro, meanwhile, played in 13 games (four starts) for Jacksonville last season. He put up 40 tackles and a sack and also served as a primary special teams contributor. The Bengals have made some investments at LB in free agency and the draft, but if he makes the team, Calitro could squeeze out some playing time on defense and on special teams.