At a time when each new quarterback contract seems to one-up the last, and reports consistently include a variation of the phrase 'becomes the highest-paid QB in NFL history,' the Cincinnati Bengals are in no hurry to have Andy Dalton join that club.
"We are certainly aware quarterback deals have evolved since then. We know that at the right time we will have to evolve as well. We don’t think this is the time right now. What we are going to focus on right now is building the best team for 2018 we possibly can," said Bengals vice president Troy Blackburn, according to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com.
Dalton signed a six-year, $96-million extension with the Bengals in advance of the 2014 season, a lofty contract at the time for a 26-year-old who had gone 30-18 in the regular season but 0-3 in the playoffs through his first three campaigns. But the contract now pales in comparison to Dalton's peers; he ranks as the 21st highest-paid quarterback in terms of annual average, according to Spotrac.
"We didn’t sign the Andy Dalton deal because we thought it was a good deal. At the time, it was an expensive deal. It was a heavy lift," said Blackburn. "We did it because Andy was a winning starting quarterback in the National Football League, he had demonstrated that."
Dalton made the Pro Bowl in his rookie season and has done so twice more since signing his extension in the summer of 2014, but he has made just one more playoff appearance and remains without a postseason victory.
The 30-year-old has three years remaining on his current deal and will count for $16.3 million against the salary cap in 2018. He can be cut after this season with no dead money counting against the cap.
