The New Orleans Saints quarterback situation devolved into quite a controversy in 2022, with Andy Dalton taking over Jameis Winston after the starter went down with injuries early in the season. And head coach Dennis Allen chose to ride out the season with Dalton under center even as his play spiraled and Winston was removed from the injury report in the back half of the season.
But now Dalton is on track to reach free agency in 2023. Should he stay in New Orleans or go try his hand elsewhere? Let’s review his 2022 season:
Season stats
Dalton led the Saints in 2022 with 378 pass attempts, completing 252 of them (66.7%) for 2,871 yards with 18 touchdown passes against 9 interceptions. He also took 25 sacks and fumbled 5 times. Those aren’t great numbers, and the offense’s overall production under his management reflects it: the Saints only averaged 19.9 points per game with Dalton under center, which isn’t much of an improvement over the 17 points per game they scored with an injured Jameis Winston starting the first three weeks.
Snap counts
Dalton logged 736 snaps on offense during 14 games with the Saints in 2022, which is his highest single-season total since the 2019 season, his last year with the Cincinnati Bengals. He played 621 snaps in 11 games with the Dallas Cowboys in 2020 and 412 snaps in 8 games with the Chicago Bears in 2021.
2022 season review
Yeah, so, it wasn’t very good. Dalton didn’t elevate the team around him. It’s not for lack of trying — he threw some big-time passes that were dropped or alligator-armed by his receivers at times late in the season. He competed hard and at least looked more competent than what we saw from the likes of Trevor Siemian and Ian Book a year earlier.
But the Saints have got to aim higher for their starting quarterback. Dalton’s limitations are real and obvious. He struggled with some procedural penalties that a player with his experience shouldn’t have to tinker with and there were too many times where the Saints needed to call a timeout because he was late getting the play rattled off and set up before the snap. His lack of pocket mobility was a problem once injuries eroded the offensive line, too. You could do worse for a backup (and the Saints have done worse) but it’s stretching things to say Dalton played at a high level.
Future value to Saints
Again, Dalton is an acceptable backup quarterback. You don’t want him playing this many games or logging this many pass attempts ever again. But if the Saints are planning to draft a rookie to develop and they want an experienced mentor in place, Dalton fits the bill. He does have value as a veteran resource to draw from on the sidelines and in the film room. They just absolutely should not view him as someone who can compete for the starting job in 2023.
Stay or go?
If Dalton is willing to re-sign for a backup salary again at $3 million or so, he should stay and back up the starter. Hopefully the Saints can find someone they believe in through this draft class. Failing that, there are going to be a handful of veteran quarterbacks available in free agency, and retaining Dalton makes sense if New Orleans ends up with someone with Jimmy Garoppolo’s injury history or Baker Mayfield’s volatile playstyle. But having Dalton in their back pocket shouldn’t dissuade the Saints from taking a swing at the few blue-chip passers out there like Lamar Jackson. So long as the money and expectations are appropriate, Dalton could return.
Poll: Vote on Twitter!
Will the Saints re-sign their soon-to-be free agent quarterback Andy Dalton?
— TheSaintsWire (@TheSaintsWire) January 27, 2023
