The Cincinnati Bengals had just two quarterbacks on their roster as their headed into the NFL Draft last week. So it didn’t exactly surprise Bengals starter Andy Dalton that the front office would use on of its selections on a quarterback.
The Bengals traded up in the fourth round to add North Carolina State quarterback Ryan Finley. They swapped fourth-round selections and sent a pair of sixth-round picks to the San Francisco 49ers in order to move up six spots and take Finley early on day three.
“They’re trying to create some competition as a backup and that’s why you bring him in,” Dalton said Tuesday, via Joe Kay of the Associated Press. “They obviously liked him, felt like he fit this system, and we had to get our (quarterback) numbers up.
“Obviously we need numbers. We can’t go in with two.”
Finley joins Jeff Driskel as the depth Dalton on Cincinnati’s roster. The Buffalo News has also reported that Central Connecticut State quarterback Jake Dolegala has also agreed to a free agent deal with the team, which would bring the number of quarterbacks under contract with the team to four. Most teams have at least three quarterbacks on their roster during the offseason.
Dalton’s contract runs through the 2020 season and he is firmly entrenched as the Bengals starter for the time being. Maybe that changes in a year when he’s about to enter the final year of his deal, but it’s still his show for now.