Bengals radio analyst Dave Lapham mentioned earlier in the week that “he is led to believe” that the team has presented QB Andy Dalton a “significant” contract package, per Lance McAlister.
This comes just a few days after the Bengals drafted Alabama QB A.J. McCarron in the fifth-round.
Bengals HC Marvin Lewis tells Dan Pompei of the Bleacher Report that although they wanted to find a backup quarterback who could be around for more than two years, McCarron will not be given an opportunity to compete for the Bengals starting job at any point.
“We won’t know that because AJ will never get enough opportunity to prove he can do that unless Andy is not here,” Lewis said. “You can’t get two quarterbacks prepared to play. The football team needs to know who the leader is all the time, in my opinion.”
There has been talk that the addition of McCarron could be used as a way to gain at least some leverage in contract talks with Dalton, who is entering the final year of his rookie contract. However, assuming the report that they have extended his reps a “significant” offer are true, it appears as though they are more concerned about getting an extension in place as soon as possible, so that it doesn’t hang over them as they head into offseason workouts and training camp.
Dalton, 26, has led Cincinnati to the playoffs in each of his first three years in the league. However, they have managed to lose in the first-round all three times.
Dalton has previously said that he would like to be paid as the “face of the franchise,” so it will be really interesting to see what kind of deal he’s able to secure.
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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