04-15-2020, 11:57 AM
(04-15-2020, 10:09 AM)Bengalstripes18 Wrote: The last thing I remember Dalton saying was, "We'll see you draft weekend", or something along those lines. I think there's a good chance he get's moved during the draft as teams find out how players are falling. They can always work out contracts after the draft.
I honestly think draft weekend is our best chance to move him and get a return. After the draft we'd be looking at trading for players or future picks. At that point we might have to cut him or hang on to him until the trade deadline. If "all options are on the table", hanging on to him until the trade deadline is an option. Maybe we re-work his deal after the draft and keep him on the trade block up until the deadline. Again, "all options are on the table".
I would say that any trade depends on a deal being struck, so no, I don't believe you can just do it during the draft. Now, maybe we get a hypothetical deal in place before the draft, and it will hinge on let's say whether Jax can trade Ngakoue and/or they don't draft a QB themselves. But it won't be like "hey we got Dalton on the block call us if you want him."
It isn't so much that Dalton needs to rework his contract - he can just do nothing and force his release because he knows the Bengals can't afford him. It's more of a negotiation between the Bengals and the trade partner for how much of his salary we'll be willing to eat to facilitate the trade - basically like buying picks. The more we eat, the better pick we might get. Lots of variables.
Also, we can't wait until the trade deadline because we can't sign our rookies until his salary is off the books. The NFL would reject any deal that puts us over the cap. "All options are on the table" was always bull. It's the narrative we're putting out there because other teams are trying to wait us out knowing we'll have to release him.
What we have to hope for is that New England doesn't get a QB in this draft, so that Jax knows they'll have to compete on the open market with them if Andy is released, and maybe one of those teams ponies something up to avoid the market competition. Even then we'll probably have to swallow some money if we want any return.
Paul Dehner's and Jay Morrison's latest Hear that Podcast Growlin' is very interesting and confirms much of this, btw.
