4 veteran quarterbacks the Redskins could end up targeting in a trade

Andy Dalton is in an interesting situation in Cincinnati. He’s coming off a season-ending injury and for the first time in his career, he will be undergoing a head coaching change. Zac Taylor will be taking over as the head coach of the Bengals, and it’s unclear exactly what he plans on doing with the team.

Taylor served as the Rams’ assistant wide receivers coach and quarterbacks coach in each of the past two seasons. He learned from Sean McVay, and with seemingly every NFL team looking for the next great, young, innovative offensive guru, he landed a head coaching job. That’s what landed him the job, and it’s possible that the Bengals’ offense could look a lot different next year.

One big choice Taylor will face is the question the team has at quarterback. Andy Dalton has been the team’s starter since being a second-round pick out of TCU, but he has never led the team to playoff success. He has been durable and generally solid, but he tends to be hot-and-cold at times. It’s possible that Taylor could want to bring in a different quarterback if he believes Dalton, 32 in October, needs a change of scenery.

If Taylor does end up moving on from Dalton — whether it’s for a first-round rookie or to reunite with a guy like Ryan Tannehill, who he coached from 2013-2015 with the Dolphins — there should be a solid trade market for him. And the Redskins would be interested.

Before becoming head coach of the Redskins, Jay Gruden worked with Dalton in Cincinnati. Dalton fit well into Gruden’s offense and made strides each year under Gruden’s tutelage. If Gruden wanted a veteran who could surely execute his scheme, Dalton would certainly qualify.

Of course, the question with Dalton would be, can the ‘Skins afford to pay for him? He has a roughly $16 million cap hit this year and is on the hook for over $17 million the following year. That would eat into a lot of the Redskins’ available cap space, though they could open up more to get him. IT would be tough, but it’s more manageable than maneuvering to fit Carr’s contract.

It’s also possible that Dalton could agree to a restructured deal if the Redskins dealt for him. He may be amenable to that, as it would give him a chance to work under Gruden once again.

Dalton is definitely another long-shot, but if he’s on the market, perhaps Washington could make something work. Either way, the relative cost of acquiring Dalton (likely a third-round pick) wouldn’t be too bad, so if the ‘Skins can make it work, they could consider it.