Bengals owner Mike Brown told reporters on Tuesday that he believes they would like to get a long-term contract in place with QB Andy Dalton, per Geoff Hobson.
According to Brown, they have had “numerous discussions” with Dalton and his representatives regarding an extension.
Interestingly enough, Brown mentioned that Dalton’s next contract could end up in the “[Colin] Kaepernick range.”
Dalton has said previously that he would be open to signing a clause-filled contract like the one agreed to by the 49ers and Kaepernick earlier in the offseason.
“You have to have confidence in yourself that you’re going to be able to do things and that’s what he did,” Dalton said at the time, via Coley Harvey of ESPN.com. “He’s confident enough where he’s going to be able to play out the whole contract and he’s going to be able to earn everything.
“So for me, I feel the same way. I feel confident with what I’m able to do.”
The Bengals used a fifth-round pick on Alabama QB A.J. McCarron, which could be used as some amount of leverage in negotiations, even if McCarron isn’t ready to start.
Dalton, 26, is entering the final year of his rookie contract and is set to make $986,027 for the 2014 season. He’s led Cincinnati to the playoffs in each of his first three years in the league, but has yet to win a single postseason game.
Last year, Dalton completed 61.9 percent of his passes for a career-high 4,296 yards 33 touchdowns and 20 interceptions.
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