Andy Dalton has signed with his fourth NFL team by joining the Carolina Panthers. The 35-year-old quarterback has talked about what he’s living nowadays, and he has refused to accept an evident truth about his career.
Back in 2011, the Cincinnati Bengals decided to draft Andy Dalton with the 35th-overall pick. The former TCU player arrived to replace Carson Palmer, who joined the Raiders, in a very challenging rookie season for him.
Even though it was his first year in the NFL, Dalton surprised everybody. The Bengals finished with a 9-7 record and a ticket to the Playoffs, where they lost in the Wild Card round against the Houston Texans.
Andy Dalton’s honest take on being a backup quarterback
The first five years of Andy Dalton’s career were amazing. From 2011 to 2015, the Bengals had a 50-26-1 record with him leading the offense, and the team thought he could be the one who leads them to success.
Unfortunately, things went downhill after the 2015 campaign. In his final four years with the Bengals, Dalton had a record of 20-35-1, leading the team to decide it was time to move on and released him in 2020.
Since then, Dalton has not been able to secure a starting position. He served as a backup quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bears, and New Orleans Saints. This offseason, he signed with the Carolina Panthers, who subsequently traded up to select Bryce Young with the first-overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Dalton is set to be a backup quarterback once again, but he doesn’t want to accept this truth. The 35-year-old has sent a message to the entire league, and the Panthers may not like it at all.
“I view myself as a starter in this league; I don’t think there are 32 guys better than me,” Dalton said, per the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “But this is the situation I am in, and I understand that. As soon as I don’t think I’m one of the best 32, or a little lower, I’ll be watching football on TV.”