Buccaneers: NFL Analyst says Tampa should trade for Andy Dalton
NFL Network Willie McGinest believes that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the best fit for QB Andy Dalton during the 2020 season.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are in the midst of making an important decision at the quarterback position in the 2020 offseason.
The Buccaneers have reportedly shown interest in reaching out to several veteran free-agent QBs, including Tom Brady, Philip Rivers and Teddy Bridgewater, and obviously are still tied to Jameis Winston, who could be brought back with a short-term extension or the franchise tag.
While re-signing Winston still seems like the most likely option at this point, the Buccaneers have made it clear that they want to pursue all options.
NFL Network Willie McGinest suggested that a great fit for Tampa Bay would be current Cincinnati Bengals QB Andy Dalton.
The Bengals have been marketing Dalton as a way to clear cap space and prepare for their No. 1 overall pick, where they will bring in LSU QB Joe Burrow as the new face of the franchise.
McGinest pointed out the Dalton has a live arm and could excel in Bruce Arians’ system, especially since he has shown a positive track record of making the right decisions with the football, not missing the ‘easy throws’ and testing the back-end of the defense.
While all of that sounds great, Dalton would be a great risk in the best-case scenario. He finished the 2019 season completing just 59.5 percent of his passes for 16 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.
Yes, he’d be surrounded by better players in Tampa Bay, but that still doesn’t account for the fact that he’s coming off the worst season of his career. After all, there’s a reason that Cincinnati is sold-out to the idea of trading him away.
Unless the Bengals are going to couple a bunch of draft picks with the deal- and even then it’d still probably be a ‘no’- there’s not much chance the Buccaneers are willing to take the risk, especially with teams like the Bears and Colts lining up for a shot at a trade.