NFL Odds: Books Slash Odds Of Dalton Becoming Patriots Starting QB

On Thursday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter announced the Cincinnati Bengals would be releasing quarterback Andy Dalton.

Dalton played nine seasons in Cincinnati after the Bengals took him with the 35th pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. He made the Pro Bowl three times in his career and led the Bengals to four postseason appearances, famously posting an 0-4 record in the playoffs.

The news of his release comes a week after the Bengals selected former LSU quarterback Joe Burrow first overall in the 2020 NFL Draft, and is hardly a surprise to fans.

The question now becomes what is Dalton’s next move?

Most interestingly, it seems as though some oddsmakers believe his release from Cincinnati could lead to him starting in Foxborough for the New England Patriots come Week 1.

Before the news of his release became public, Dalton was +1800 to be the Week 1 starter for the Pats, giving that scenario an implied probability of just 5.3%.

Since his release, FanDuel has dropped the odds to +200, upping the implied probability of him starting under center for New England to 33.3%.

Dalton is now the second favorite to be named the Patriots’ starting quarterback. He's passed fellow free agent Cam Newton, whose odds are presently +600, and current Patriot Jarrett Stidham is the odds-on favorite at -200, which means oddsmakers think he has a 66.7% chance to start.

Head coach Bill Belichick is known to take a shot every now and then on talented veteran players that he thinks can help his team, but I assume Dalton wants to be a starter wherever he goes. It just comes down to whether New England truly believes Stidham is the quarterback of the future or if they're looking to bring in some competition for the 2nd year man out of Auburn.