Did the Dallas Cowboys finally get a respectable backup quarterback and gain some leverage against Dak Prescott in contract negotiations in one fell swoop?
The former is certain and the latter has yet to be decided, following the addition of former Cincinnati Bengals starter Andy Dalton on a one-year contract, per sources.
ESPN first reported the signing.
It brings Dalton, a Houston native who starred in college at TCU, back home to Texas.
The deal guarantees Dalton $3 million with an opportunity to get up to $7 million in incentives, sources confirmed.
The latter would likely come if Dalton had to replace Prescott in the starting lineup due to injury or maybe a contract impasse.
If Prescott, who has yet to sign his franchise tag, doesn’t get a contract extension done by July 15, he would have to play the season on the franchise tag tender of $31.4 million in 2020.
And he is not going to walk away from that.
And Prescott has not missed a game or a start in his four years with the Cowboys.
Still, until the tender is signed or a deal is done, there remains some unknown.
The Cowboys covered themselves with Dalton, 32, who has been to three Pro Bowls and has a career record of 70-61-2 as a starter with the Bengals.
He is easily a better backup option than Cooper Rush.
Dalton had been the Bengals’ primary starter since they selected him in the second round of the 2011 draft. But he was cut after the Bengals drafted former LSU quarterback Joe Burrow with the top overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft.
Dalton was set to earn $17.7 million in the final season of a six-year contract worth $96 million.
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