Andy Dalton is a free agent, which is great news for these teams

Without question, the best landing spot for Dalton ahead of this season is the Jacksonville Jaguars. Though wishing someone to go from the worst team last year to potentially the worst team this year sounds mean, hear this one out. Jacksonville needs a quality backup to replace Nick Foles now that it’ll be The Gardner Minshew Show down in Duval. Dalton would be an exceptional one.

Jacksonville is not tied to the loathsome burden that was Foles’ contract anymore. The Jaguars have Minshew playing on the second year of his rookie deal out of Washington State. They can afford to play Dalton a couple of million dollars to be a high-priced backup for a year or so. He may not be the future of Jaguars football, but he’s the perfect bridge quarterback they’d need.

If Jacksonville stinks, regardless of how well Minshew performs, the Jaguars will draft a franchise quarterback next year, either Trevor Lawrence out of Clemson or Justin Fields out of Ohio State. Jacksonville may have an entirely new coaching staff by that point. Minshew would still be under contract, but a one-year deal for Dalton would be the right thing to do here.

Next: Top 30 Teams of the Modern Era (1960 and Beyond)

But perhaps the biggest reason Dalton should go to Jacksonville is the Jaguars’ offensive coordinator is the one he had the most success with in his NFL career. Former Washington Redskins head coach and Bengals offensive coordinator Jay Gruden has joined Doug Marrone‘s staff. Put pen to paper and make this deal happen. “The Red Rifle” belongs in Black and Teal.