Rumors: Could Andy Dalton really end up on the Patriots?

With Tom Brady’s 2020 status uncertain and the New England Patriots looking for answers at quarterback, could Andy Dalton present any interest to the team?

Could the New England Patriots end up transitioning from Tom Brady to Andy Dalton at quarterback this year?

It’s a frighteningly disturbing – and frankly pretty depressing – notion, yet somehow it’s a story that has legs in the national media these days.

According to SB Nation’s John Sheeran, there are multiple analysts and personalities in the football world who believe Bill Belichick and the Patriots might take a long hard look at the Red Rifle this offseason.

Everyone from Bart Scott to Peter King to Ben Volin and beyond seems to be offering up their take on these rumors, leading Patriots fans everywhere to wonder just what everyone’s been watching on Sundays these past nine years.

To be fair, you need look no further than this season’s AFC Championship Game as proof that sometimes a player just needs a change of scenery to come into their own. Ryan Tannehill was an epic disaster for many moons as a Miami Dolphin, but he came over to the Tennessee Titans last offseason, usurped the starting job from Marcus Mariota, and played the best football of his professional career.

Now Tannehill and Mike Vrabel’s Titans are 60 minutes away from taking Brady and the Patriots’ usual spot as the AFC representative in the Super Bowl this February.

If the Pats seriously were to consider signing Dalton to the team next year, is it possible that he could become for New England in 2020 what Tannehill has been to Tennessee in 2019?

Possible, yes. Probable, no.

Most self-respecting Patriots fans are probably rooting for Tom Brady to return to the team on some kind of new deal – and preferably one that gets worked out before he ever hits free agency. Even if Brady does get re-signed, the team is almost guaranteed to take a quarterback high in the draft this April – that is, unless they think that Jarrett Stidham is the long-term answer.

What’s intriguing about the idea of Dalton in a Patriots uniform is that he could potentially serve as a bridge of sorts between Brady and Brady’s heir. That’s a much more palatable idea, but it’s still one that would probably get laughed at in many NFL circles.

Long-suffering Bengals fans would be all too happy to see Dalton in a Patriots uniform presumably – which should be considered a good sign that he’s probably worth passing on in New England.