Chicago Bears: What Bill Lazor hire could mean for immediate future
By Ryan Heckman
3. Andy Dalton is a real possibility
Most recently, we know Lazor coached in Cincinnati. Now, typically when someone mentions the Bengals as of late, they are more likely to get a cringeworthy reaction than a positive one. The Bengals simply have not been a good team, but there is a lot of blame to divvy up in Cincinnati.
What I want to focus on is Lazor’s connection to quarterback Andy Dalton. In Lazor’s last year coaching Dalton (2018), the numbers were actually fairly impressive.
Dalton only played in 11 games that season due to injury, but his 16 game pace under Lazor would have gone down as one of the best of his career. Check out the highlights: 3,700 passing yards, 30 touchdowns, 16 interceptions, 89.6 rating.
By comparison, that would be (by far) the best season Mitchell Trubisky has had as a pro.
Cincinnati is in line to draft LSU’s Joe Burrow with the no. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, which means they have a decision to make on Dalton. His contract pays him over $17 million this coming season, however if the Bengals cut him, they save that money with zero dead cap.
In all likelihood, the Bengals will do their due diligence in trying to find a trade partner for Dalton. If the Bears were to float anything out there, my guess is that it would be somewhere along the lines of a seventh round pick, if anything.
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The Bengals will more than likely cut Dalton, save the money, and allow him to sign somewhere as a free agent. With Lazor’s connection to Dalton, and the former Pro Bowl quarterback still having a few years left in him, it would make sense for Chicago to make a run at him.