Andy Dalton Continues to Miss Marvin Jones and Mohamed Sanu

Andy Dalton has looked like a man on a steady decline for the past couple years. People have tried to figure out why that is the case.

If one were to look close enough, they’d realize the man is and has always been at the mercy of the weapons around him. While the Cincinnati Bengals continue to boast a strong running game and decent offensive line, their wide receivers have taken some serious hits since last year. In the space of one month they lost two of their three best targets. Obviously A.J. Green was kept, but underrated playmakers Marvin Jones and Mohamed Sanu left as free agents.

Sanu went to Atlanta to play with Matt Ryan. Jones signed on in Detroit with Matthew Stafford. Both have done quite well since then. At the same time their former quarterback Dalton has paid the price. In their three years together from 2012 to 2015, Dalton threw 104 touchdowns to 60 interceptions. Since they left? Dalton has 18 touchdowns to 12 interceptions. Not nearly as productive with an uptick in turnovers.

It feels more than ever like the window the Bengals had with him to actually make a run at a Super Bowl has closed. His skill set was never that great to begin with. It’s only going to deteriorate from here on out. Dalton turned 30-years old this year. If he couldn’t win with the cast he had before, then the odds of him doing so now or in the near future are unlikely.

One could argue the Bengals have waited too long to make a change. Is A.J. McCarron an option? Impossible to say. If they’d thought he was really an upgrade, he would’ve played by now. Odds are Cincinnati will be exploring replacements in 2018. The class is reported to be deep, so the opportunity should be there.