Zac Taylor on Keeping Andy Dalton with Rookie QB: 'There's a Lot of Unknowns'

Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor is remaining non-committal to veteran quarterback Andy Dalton:

The Bengals finished 2019 with a league-worst 2-14 record, earning them the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NFL draft later this month. The team is widely expected to draft Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Joe Burrow with the top selection.

Taylor vaguely commented on Cincinnati's draft plans:

Dalton has been the Bengals' starting quarterback since they took him in the second round of 2011's draft. The 32-year-old is under contract through next season and owed $17.5 million with a $17.7 million cap hit, per Spotrac.

Dalton's future in Cincinnati came under fire when he was benched in late October:

Ryan Finley, a 2019 fourth-round pick, started three games. The 25-year-old underwhelmed with 474 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions on just 47.1 percent completion as the Bengals went 0-3. Dalton returned under center to finish out the regular season.

At the time of his benching, Dalton disclosed to reporters Taylor's reasoning: "He said he has to think about the future with the draft, and we have to see what we have in Ryan. And so, that's what it came down to. ... He obviously felt it was the best thing to do for this team, even though I don't agree with it."

Dalton also commented on the timing of his benching being the same day as the trade deadline:

"I think that's an unfortunate thing. I mean, it happened three hours before the trade deadline. You know, I wish it would have, at least—if he was thinking about it, at least let me try to see if I could end up somewhere else. At least see if there was interest in possibly getting traded. At that point, the way it was all handled, there wasn't enough time to even have that happen."

Taylor said "every option is on the table" in terms of what to do with Dalton moving forward during an interview with WLWT's Elise Jesse on Monday:

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported something similar on March 25:

Dalton has 31,594 yards, 204 touchdowns and 118 interceptions on a 62 completion percentage across 133 career starts. He's 70-61-2 and has never won a playoff game—instead, losing four straight wild-card games from 2011 to 2015. The Bengals have not won in the postseason since 1990.

Should Burrow land in Cincinnati, the former LSU standout will be fresh off an undefeated campaign capped by a national championship:

Burrow put together one of the all-time best seasons by a collegiate quarterback, breaking multiple records, with 5,671 yards, 60 touchdowns and six picks on 76.3 percent completion.