The Facts: In his first comments since being cut Thursday, Dalton said he believes the delayed timing of his release hindered his opportunities to join another team. "This year there were a good amount of quarterbacks that were available," Dalton said when asked about potential trade options in a story published by Bengals.com on Friday night. "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 contract and that hurt me."

Diehards Line: The new league year and official opening of free agency was March 18. The Bengals, a traditionally conservative franchise on the open market, exhausted much of their available salary-cap space on new players. When that occurred, it effectively ensured the Bengals would not be able to afford Dalton's $17.7 million salary for the final year of his contract. To compound the situation, Cincinnati selected quarterback Joe Burrow with the first overall pick in the draft, a decision that had been speculated about since before the end of last season. The Bengals were unable to find a trade partner for Dalton in the ensuing days, and he was released Thursday. "I'm sure teams knew they [the Bengals] were going to take a quarterback No. 1 and they would release me and there was no reason to rush into anything," Dalton, who has yet to sign with another team. ... Meanwhile, Jacksonville, who employs Dalton's former offensive coordinator, Jay Gruden, in the same position is interested in pursuing the veteran quarterback. The Patriots might also be interested.