Bears among betting favorites to acquire Andy Dalton

With the Bears expected to look for a veteran to compete with Mitchell Trubisky for the starting quarterback role, one of the most popular names being floated out as potential targets is Bengals starter Andy Dalton.

The 32-year-old Dalton is presumed to be traded as Cincinnati prepares to select LSU’s Joe Burrow with the first pick in the 2020 draft. Recent reports indicate the Bears have contacted them to gauge the veteran’s availability in a trade.

The connection between Dalton and Chicago is obvious, with former Bengals offensive coordinator Bill Lazor having taken over in the same role for the Bears this offseason. The quarterback has experience in Lazor’s offense, which places an emphasis on RPOs and West Coast philosophies. Dalton even reached the Pro Bowl after the 2016 season, during which Lazor was the Bengals’ quarterbacks coach.

Sascha Paruk from Sports Betting Dime states that the Bears are among the favorites to acquire Dalton, but they aren’t the team most likely to make a deal for him:

“Andy Dalton’s 2020 team is a wide-open race and numerous teams would love to add the veteran signal-caller to their depth chart. He’s been linked to the Bears, but they have little draft capital to use in a potential trade with the Bengals, who want a second-round pick. SBD makes the Patriots (+600) and Colts (+700) the favorites, followed by Chicago at +1000.”

While far from a long-term option at quarterback, Dalton could be worth a look as competition for Trubisky and a bridge for whomever the Bears’ next draft pick at the position will be, especially assuming the Bengals settle for acquiring a Day 3 pick.

Paruk also mentions that odds for Raiders quarterback Derek Carr to change teams are increasing, but the Bears are not listed among the favorites:

“When it comes to Derek Carr’s 2020 team, the incumbent Raiders are still the favorite, but it’s looking more and more likely that the team will bring in someone new for their inaugural season in Las Vegas. SBD’s oddsmakers put the Raiders at -150 (60%) followed by the Chargers (+900) and Colts (+1100).”

With rumors running rampant regarding Las Vegas potentially trading the three-time Pro Bowler, the Bears have been tied to Carr over the past few weeks.

While the Raiders trading Carr away would have to rely on several dominoes falling—one of them likely being Tom Brady choosing to sign with them—Chicago would be smart to jump at the chance of possibly acquiring a quarterback of Carr’s caliber, especially considering he’s still under 30 years old. For now though, it appears that he will make the move to Las Vegas with the rest of the Raiders’ organization.