Andy Dalton Out for Season with Thumb Injury, Tom Savage Claimed on Waivers

The Cincinnati Bengals will have to make do without quarterback Andy Dalton for the rest of the 2018 season after he suffered a thumb injury during Sunday's 35-20 home loss to the Cleveland Browns.

The Bengals announced they placed Dalton on the reserve/injured list Monday and acquired Tom Savage from the San Francisco 49ers via waivers to bolster their quarterback depth chart.

According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, Dalton tore ligaments in his thumb and may need surgery.

The injury happened in the third quarter when he was attempting to recover an errant snap. It ends the three-time Pro Bowler's season after he completed 61.9 percent of his passes for 2,566 yards, 21 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.

This is more unfortunate news for a Cincinnati team trending in the wrong direction. The Bengals started the season 4-1 and appeared to be well on their way to snapping their two-year playoff drought, but they are just 1-5 since. What's more, wide receiver A.J. Green hasn't played since Oct. 28 because of a right toe injury.

If there is a silver lining, Jeff Driskel played well after Dalton went down. He finished Sunday's game 17-of-29 for 155 yards, one touchdown and zero interceptions and demonstrated his ability to make plays with his legs with a rushing touchdown.

He will be ahead of Savage on the depth chart. Last season, Savage appeared in eight games for the Houston Texans (six of them coming after Deshaun Watson tore his ACL). He threw for 1,412 yards, five touchdowns and six picks.