3 quarterback moves the New England Patriots would be wise to make

1. Get Andy Dalton

Very early in the offseason, as Tom Brady seemed ready to survey his free agent options, Peter King of NBC Sports offered Dalton as the ideal type of quarterback for Bill Belichick. Recent reports indicate they have no interest in him, but Belichick’s philosophical notes at the outset of his tenure as Cleveland Browns’ coach in 1991 are informative now.

In short-hand/scouting notebook style, here’s what Belichick wrote regarding what a quarterback should be:

"#1 is make good decisions–then, arm size, physically tough, leadership, guys look up to and have confidence in, a real competitor. Accurate rather than guy with a cannon. Emphasis on our game will be on decision, timing, accuracy–guy needs to be confident, intelligence is important but not as much so as field awareness and judgement. Can’t be sloppy fundamentally, unsound guy with ball handling, techs etc. Footwork, drops, release, etc.–QB has to be able to throw the ball with accuracy.”"

Brady is the embodiment of those traits, and Dalton has many of them too. Without two fluky thumb injuries and a three-game benching for an in-over-his-head rookie last year, Dalton would have started every game over the last nine seasons for the Bengals.

Dalton is due to make $17.5 million this year, the final year of his contract, and the Bengals may be willing to keep him if a trade market continues to be non-existent. But they could also cut him without cap consequence, while also freeing a new team from that salary obligation.

Ideally, the Patriots would be able to sign Dalton to a cheap one-year deal as a bridge to whoever’s next (Stidham? Love? Someone else?). It will take some maneuvering to clear money no matter what. Until a different move is made to add a quarterback, Dalton stands as the perfect quarterback for the Patriots.