The Facts: Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin told NFL Network's Ian Rapoport the team has yet to make a decision on Dalton, who is still under contract for another year. But it sounds like Dalton will be the first to know if/when the Bengals commit to selecting a quarterback with the first pick of the 2020 NFL Draft. "We haven't made any decisions there and I wish I could give him a decision there -- it's you, it's somebody else, all those things are possibilities," Tobin said. "I can tell you one thing, what Andy Dalton's done for the Bengals is not something that we're going to forget and we're not going to just willy-nilly, make something happen with him that, a) he's uncomfortable with and, b) that we're uncomfortable with."
Diehards Line:The process could be expedited if Cincinnati finds a suitable trade partner before the draft. While Dalton would presumably want a chance to compete for a starting job, a new team would likely ask him to restructure a contract that nets him $17.5 million in base salary next season. The 32-year-old QB is coming off arguably his worst year, having completed just 59.5 percent of his passes with 16 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. He was benched in favor of rookie Ryan Finley in October but reclaimed the starting job in December and led the Bengals to their only two wins of 2019. But Dalton made the Pro Bowl as a rookie. He led the Bengals to the playoffs five straight years. He's the highest-rated passer in franchise history. "He came in and won for us immediately, and he's certainly not done," Tobin said. "He's got a lot of talent, he's got a lot of leadership. ... And we don't believe by a long stretch that his career is over." We'll continued to watch for more.