The Cincinnati Bengals released Andy Dalton earlier this week, ending the quarterback's nine-year run with the club.

But why wasn't Dalton traded?

The veteran says it was because teams knew the Bengals would release him after they traded Joe Burrow with the No. 1 overall pick, so there was no point in giving up anything of value for him. Dalton explained the situation to Geoff Hobson of the Bengals' team website:

“There were several different factors. This year there were a good amount of quarterbacks that were available. I think it would have worked out differently if I had been a free agent when the new league year started. I was still under contact and that hurt me. I'm sure teams knew they were going to take a quarterback No. 1 and they would release me and there was no reason to rush into anything.”

That definitely makes sense.

It was blatantly obvious that Dalton's time in Cincinnati was up, so it wouldn't have been very prudent for a club to trade an asset for him when it could just sign him as a free agent.

Dalton, who played his collegiate football at TCU, was originally selected by the Bengals in the second round (35th pick overall) of the 2011 NFL Draft.

He immediately won the starting job and made the Pro Bowl during his rookie campaign, the first of three Pro Bowl appearances during Dalton's run in Cincy.

However, this past season, Dalton threw just 16 touchdowns and 14 interceptions and briefly lost his job to Ryan Finley. Cincinnati won only two games, giving them the league's worst record and the top pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.