Can Andy Dalton Be the Next Ryan Tannehill?

One year ago today, the NFL career of Ryan Tannehill was at a crossroads. After an up-and-down six-year tenure in Miami (including a disappointing 2018 campaign in which he missed five games), Tannehill was traded to the Tennessee Titans, where he would play out the final year of his contract—ostensibly as Marcus Mariota's backup.

We know what happened from there, of course. Partway through the 2019 season, Tannehill took over for Mariota and led the Titans to seven wins in 10 starts. Tannehill completed over 70 percent of his passes, led all qualifying signal-callers in passer rating, won Comeback Player of the Year honors and, most importantly, got the Titans into the postseason and then all the way to the AFC Championship Game.

As we prepare to embark on what could be an unprecedented market for quarterbacks in free agency, there's another veteran quarterback with the potential for the same sort of big-time turnaround. A quarterback who could resurrect not only his own career but that of the team he plays for. A quarterback whose name hasn't been mentioned nearly as much as Tom Brady. Or Philip Rivers. Or Jameis Winston.

That quarterback is Andrew Gregory Dalton.

Wilfredo Lee/Associated Press

On Saturday, ESPN's Josina Anderson confirmed the long-rumored belief that the Cincinnati Bengals were open to dealing the 32-year-old Dalton, who carries a cap hit of $17.7 million in the final year of his contract. With the Bengals just about universally expected to select LSU quarterback Joe Burrow with the first overall pick in 2020, it's possible if a trade can't be worked out that Dalton will be released outright. Doing so would carry zero dead money this year.

There are other similarities between the two quarterbacks. Like Tannehill's 2018, Dalton's 2019 season was a forgettable one. Dalton's completion percentage (59.5) was his lowest since his rookie year. His passer rating (78.3) was a career low. Dalton threw just two more touchdown passes than interceptions and failed to play in all 16 games for only the third time in his career—in part because he was benched in favor of Ryan Finley.

Ryan…freaking…Finley.

However, there are caveats for those struggles. Dalton didn't have A.J. Green (who entered the NFL in 2011 as well) for the entire 2019 season. Cincinnati's offensive line was a hot mess. And the Bengals benched Dalton in part because the season was lost and the team wanted to see if Finley had any long-term potential.

He does not.

There's one major difference between Dalton and Tannehill. Prior to last year's ascension, Tannehill's career had mostly been a disappointment. That isn't the case with The Red Rifle.

Wins and losses aren't the best benchmark for a quarterback, but even with their wildly divergent fortunes a year ago, Dalton (70-61-2) still has a better career winning percentage than Tannehill (49-49-0). Four straight years from 2012 to 2015, Dalton's Bengals won 10 or more games. In each of his first five NFL seasons, Dalton led Cincinnati to the playoffs.

Dalton has two 4,000-yard seasons. Four years with 25 or more touchdown passes. Six seasons with a passer rating of over 85. Three Pro Bowl nods. And a handful (plus) of franchise passing records.

Gary Landers/Associated Press

Dalton hasn't had a ton of success in recent years, but as John Breech reported for CBS Sports, Dalton said all the way back when he was benched that he thinks he still has something to offer NFL teams.

"I want to have an opportunity to play," Dalton said, via the team's website. "I want to have an opportunity to be somewhere where I'm wanted."

To their credit, the Bengals have reportedly made it clear that they are willing to work with Dalton—to find a fit that works both for Cincinnati and their longtime quarterback. There are several teams that could potentially fit that bill.

The first would offer Dalton his best chance at a Comeback Player of the Year-type season—but it also comes with a sizable caveat that makes it somewhat unlikely.

If Tom Brady does leave the New England Patriots in free agency (a big "if"), it's unlikely Bill Belichick will want to blow the franchise up and start from scratch. New England is going to want a veteran quarterback who can keep the team in contention in the AFC East. Per Nick Goss of NBC Boston, former Patriots offensive coordinator Charlie Weis told SiriusXM NFL Radio he thinks Dalton would be a great bridge option in Beantown.

"This guy has won a lot of football games. He knows how to see the field, throwing it hasn't been the issue. The biggest issue with Cincinnati is the mentality in the building, No. 1, and the injuries to all the skill people on a yearly basis. Every year you watch Cincinnati, you ever see their full group of people all there together for an extended period of time? Hardly ever. And still, how many times did the guy go to the playoffs? A half dozen? How many of these other guys have been there a half dozen times?"

Gary Landers/Associated Press

New England admittedly needs to improve the receiving corps. But the offensive line and defense would be vastly superior to what Dalton had around him in the Queen City. Add in the winning culture in New England, and Dalton would do cartwheels for the chance to play in Boston.

The Patriots might offer Dalton the best chance at a career revival, but it isn't the only intriguing landing spot. Just two years ago, the Chicago Bears were a 12-win division champion. But the team slogged its way to a third-place finish in 2019—largely because Mitchell Trubisky took a major step backward under center.

In Chicago, Dalton would be in a similar position to Tannehill a year ago—a "backup" with a real chance of either winning the job in camp or seeing the field at some point. He'd also move to a team with decent talent at wide receiver, a good young running back in David Montgomery and an excellent defense.

The Bears apparently could think bringing Dalton in would be a viable plan. According to Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic, Chicago should at least kick the tires on a trade.

The Indianapolis Colts have a substantial amount of cap space invested in Jacoby Brissett in 2020. But like Dalton, Brissett's deal is up after this season. Indy has plenty of cap space to absorb Dalton's salary. After Brissett's second-half swoon last year, the Colts could be looking for competition and/or an alternative under center. And with arguably the best offensive line in the game and talent on both sides of the ball, the Colts would offer Dalton plenty to work with in the upcoming season.

After moving on from Philip Rivers this offseason, the Los Angeles Chargers are hitting the reset button at quarterback. And with the sixth overall pick in the 2020 draft, the Chargers could be looking to bring in their quarterback of the future. But Los Angeles could also still want a "bridge" starter for 2020, and the Chargers would give Dalton the best assemblage of passing-game talent (Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, Hunter Henry) of any club listed here.

That's not an exhaustive list of destinations, but it demonstrates there are teams out there that could offer Dalton the sort of resources around him that haven't existed for much of his tenure with the Bengals. Teams that could offer him a real chance at a renaissance. An opportunity to show he's nowhere close to finished as an NFL starter.

And while Dalton never was and never will be Patrick Mahomes or Aaron Rodgers, he has quietly shown (for quite a while) he can play the quarterback position pretty dang well.

In the right situation, he could do so again.

And a year from now, after the verdict's in on this year's QB carousel, Dalton has the potential to be one of the best decisions of the lot.