We wrote last week about quarterback Andy Dalton being released after nine years with the Cincinnati Bengals. Some of the teams we threw out for potential landing spots were New England, Jacksonville, Denver and Pittsburgh.
The first two of those squads were for Dalton to compete as the starter, while the latter two were backup options. The 32-year-old ultimately decided to ink with a team in a backup role, but one not many predicted – the Dallas Cowboys.
At first glance, Dallas seems like a strange landing spot. After all, “America’s Team” has a very good starter in Dak Prescott who will either sign his franchise tag for $31 Million or sign one of the most lucrative long-term deals in NFL history.
However, when you dig a little deeper, the Dalton signing makes a lot more sense. He is a Texas native and played his college ball at TCU. Next on the Dallas depth chart was the unproven Cooper Rush, and he was just released by the team today.
Dallas +830 to win the NFC Conference
Dallas is +830 to win the NFC at Winning Poker Network Sportsbooks. That’s fourth in the conference behind San Francisco (+375), Tampa Bay (+460) and New Orleans (+490), and ahead of Seattle (+1000) and Philadelphia (+1052).
I don’t think Prescott will sit out any games due to his contract, but there is a good chance he could miss a couple of contests due to injury. If that’s the case and you are a team fighting for playoff positioning, having an experienced Dalton coming off the bench is a huge advantage over the untested Rush.
Dalton is also very good in the locker room and should be able to help Prescott with game preparation etc.
I believe that the Dalton news give more value to Dallas at these +830 conference odds.