Bengals Release Andy Dalton, Burrow Still Favored To Serve Cincy Well

• The Cincinnati Bengals have released long time starting quarterback Andy Dalton.
• The Bengals Over/Under win total sits at 5.5 with -117 for the over and -103 for the under.

CINCINNATI – With the heralding of new opportunities comes the unfortunate winds of change.

For the Cincinnati Bengals, that meant coming to terms with the release of their long time franchise quarterback Andy Dalton.

Dalton was officially released Thursday morning, marking the end of a nine-year run as the starting signal-caller for the Bengals.

Cincinnati took Dalton out of TCU in the second round back in 2011, and he has been the quarterback since, leading the Bengals to the playoffs five times. Unfortunately, the Bengals never made it out of the wild-card round each time, extending a playoff win drought that reaches back to 1991, the longest in the league.

This means that now, the keys to the castle belong exclusively to No. 1 overall pick Joe Burrow. Burrow, an Ohio native, is now in charge of guiding this downtrodden franchise into the light and is the early favorite for offensive Rookie of the Year.

Fans are extremely optimistic about Burrow’s future in orange and black, but oddsmakers have yet to be convinced. Taking a look at the season win totals for the Bengals puts them marginally better than their league-worst performance last season.

Getting to 6 wins this season with a rookie QB would be a nominal improvement over a team that racked up two totals wins last year. But, it’s not impossible as highlighted by Dalton himself. The Bengals won nine games in his first season.

It is hard to recall that this was a team that made the playoffs five seasons in a row at the beginning of the decade under Dalton.

From 2011 to 2015, Dalton led the Bengals to the postseason putting up a record of 50-26-1 as a starter. During this time Dalton received three Pro Bowl nominations on his way to being the franchise leader in passing touchdowns.

All that is in the past now as Dalton looks for a new job.

"This city has been our home since I got drafted here, and this city's meant a lot," said Dalton. "I'm thankful for all the people that we've met. There's been a lot of good people in Cincinnati who have pushed me, my wife and my family to be better people, and we're grateful for that."

At the conclusion of last season, it became apparent that Dalton’s contract would not work with the Bengals offseason spending agenda. Dalton was set to earn $17.7 million in the final season of a six-year contract that totaled $96 million.

While it is hard to say that Dalton did not live up to this contract during his time with the Bengals, it is certainly apparent that this was the right move for the future of the franchise.

While it would have been a luxury to keep Dalton to mentor Burrow, money played a factor in the franchise’s decision.

A bet on the Bengals season win total is now a direct guess as to how bettors feel Burrow will do all on his own. Dalton got past 6 wins in his first year with the Bengals and right now sportsbooks feel Burrow will do the same.