Andy Dalton signing one-year deal with the Cowboys

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The Andy Dalton-to-the Patriots talk is officially dead. The former Bengals quarterback is signing a one-year deal with the Cowboys worth up to $7 million that includes $3 million guaranteed, according to an ESPN report on Saturday. The 32-year-old Dalton, who will be backing up Dak Prescott, already has a home in Dallas and won’t …

The Andy Dalton-to-the Patriots talk is officially dead.

The former Bengals quarterback is signing a one-year deal with the Cowboys worth up to $7 million that includes $3 million guaranteed, according to an ESPN report on Saturday.

The 32-year-old Dalton, who will be backing up Dak Prescott, already has a home in Dallas and won’t have to move, according to the report.

After Dalton was released by the Bengals on Thursday, speculation began that he could be a fit for the Patriots, who do not have an established veteran quarterback now that Tom Brady reached a two-year deal with the Buccaneers worth $50 million guaranteed, plus $9 million in incentives. Presently, second-year quarterback Jarrett Stidham tops the Patriots’ depth chart.

Dalton — who reportedly drew “legitimate interest” from the Jaguars — knew his time in Cincinnati was over once the team selected Joe Burrow with the No. 1 pick in the 2020 draft, but said the timing of his exit hurt his free-agency opportunities.

“This year there were a good amount of quarterbacks that were available,” Dalton told the Bengals’ official website on Friday. “I think it would have worked out differently if I had been a free agent when the new league year started. I was still under contract, and that hurt me.”

Dalton, who played for TCU in college, was drafted in 2011 by the Bengals with the 35th pick. The veteran signal caller led Cincinnati to four straight wild-card appearances from 2011-14, but they went 0-4 in those games.

Dalton’s career at Cincinnati bottomed out last season when he threw 14 interceptions and just 16 touchdowns in 13 games for the 2-14 Bengals. He was benched after the October trade deadline for Ryan Finley, who started three games, but Dalton regained his starting job late in the season to lead the Bengals to their two wins.

Though it’s unlikely Dalton ever will start for the Cowboys, Prescott’s long-term future in Dallas isn’t secure either. The Cowboys, who slapped Prescott, 26, with the franchise tag in March, have not yet signed the quarterback to the extension he seeks.

Prescott, along with teammate Ezekiel Elliott, was a subject of controversy during this coronavirus pandemic for holding a party or a friend that had 30 or more people in April, according to a TMZ.com report. Prescott admitted to having friends at his home in Prosper, Texas, but noted in a released statement to Pro Football Talk that less than 10 guests were in attendance.