Andy Dalton's future with the Cincinnati Bengalscontinues to be an offseason issue.
The quarterback enters the final season of his rookie contract having taken his team to three straight playoff games -- in which he played miserably on each occasion. Earlier this offseason, owner Mike Brown called the decision to give Dalton a big contract a dilemma.
The signal-caller said Monday he believes he should get paid like the face of the franchise.
"It's a quarterback-driven league, so quarterbacks get rewarded a lot of money," Dalton said per ESPN.com. "For a lot of these quarterbacks, if you're the quarterback of the team, you're the face of the franchise. So these teams obviously believe in their guy and they're going to pay him that way."
Dalton said during negotiations his camp is stacking up his first three campaigns among those of other franchise quarterbacks.
"(Joe) Flacco, (Aaron) Rodgers, (Drew) Brees. Who else is up there? Matt Ryan," he said laughing, when asked for the best comparisons, per the team's official website.
Those four are among the highest-paid players in the NFL, so while perhaps he was being a bit cheeky, it's clear he doesn't want to give Brown a discount at quarterback.
Dalton said he understands the risk versus reward of playing out the final year of his contract.
"There's obviously some risk when that goes on, but I am confident in everything that I have been able to do and what I am going to do this year," he said, per The Cincinnati Enquirer. "If it comes to that then it comes to that, but I think both sides want to get it done. So, hopefully it happens."
In the latest edition of the "Around The League Podcast," the guys discuss the 2014 NFL Draft with guru Bucky Brooks.
