Andy Dalton Released by Bengals After Joe Burrow Taken in 2020 NFL Draft

The Cincinnati Bengals announced the release of quarterback Andy Dalton on Thursday.

ESPN's Adam Schefter first reported the news.

The team drafted LSU quarterback Joe Burrow, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, with the first overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft last week.

Dalton threw for 3,494 yards, 16 touchdowns and 14 interceptions in 2019. As the season wore on, the writing was on the wall regarding his future in Cincinnati.

The Bengals benched Dalton for their Week 10 matchup with the Baltimore Ravens, which proved to be a 49-13 loss. They were 0-8 by that point, so it made sense to give Ryan Finley, the team's fourth-round pick last year, a few starts to see if he might be Dalton's long-term successor under center.

Following three straight defeats, Cincinnati turned back to Dalton for the remainder of the year. The 32-year-old spoke of how his demotion made him approach the game a little differently.

"It feels good," he told reporters in November. "Just as a player who has started basically every chance I've been able to without being hurt, it gives you a different perspective being on the other side. I'm glad to be back out playing. I feel I can help us win, so I'm excited to be going these last five games."

The Bengals' 33-23 victory over the Cleveland Browns in Week 17 had an air of finality. Fans cheered Dalton off the field as he walked back to the locker room, and he said after the home game he knew it might have been his last game with the team.

Cincinnati is in need of a reboot after going 2-14 in 2019. The team's selection of Burrow was forecast for months beforehand, and now the path is clear for him to take over the starting job as a rookie.

Dalton's contract gave the Bengals another reason to move on. The 2011 second-round pick out of TCU was entering the final year of his deal, and they could wipe out his $17.7 million cap hit without absorbing any dead money.

As the offseason wore it, whatever trade leverage Cincinnati had evaporated. When Cam Newton and Jameis Winston—two quarterbacks who theoretically have more value—went unsigned through mid-April, the idea that a team would give up anything in order to land Dalton appeared to be a pipe dream.

The Panthers were in a similar position with Newton and also released him when a trade failed to materialize. Winston has since signed with the New Orleans Saints as a backup to Drew Brees.

Some would argue the Bengals reached a point where they were better off keeping Dalton to serve as a veteran mentor to Burrow. Others would counter Dalton had earned the right to start fresh somewhere else.

Ryan Tannehill's renaissance with the Tennessee Titans shows how beneficial a change of scenery can be for a quarterback thought to have hit his ceiling.

Dalton's 0-4 playoff record and poor performances in prime-time games will continue to be an albatross that hangs around his neck. Fans will question whether a team with postseason ambitions should make him the starter.

However, Dalton has generally maintained a solid baseline. He's averaging 237.5 yards per game with a 62.0 percent completion rate over his career. He also has a 4.6 percent touchdown rate and 2.7 interception rate, per Pro Football Reference.

He and Tannehill, who's one year younger, are basically the same quarterback: 63.5 percent completion rate, 231.8 yards per game, 4.5 percent TD rate and 2.5 percent interception rate.

Perhaps Dalton doesn't have another level to his game in the way Tannehill did, but nobody should be surprised if he exceeds expectations in 2020 after leaving a team that steadily sank to the bottom of the NFL.