Since Drew Brees retired, the New Orleans Saints have been in a quarterback odyssey.
Jameis Winston led the team to a 5-2 record before suffering a season-ending torn ACL injury.
Trevor Siemian and Taysom Hill took turns under center but fell short in leading the Saints to the playoffs.
This offseason, the team cast their dice on the Deshaun Watson sweepstakes.
However, they lost to the Cleveland Browns and brought back Winston instead.
Siemian signed with the Chicago Bears, leaving Ian Book and Blake Bortles as their other quarterbacks.
But the Saints addressed that matter by signing veteran play-caller Andy Dalton.
It looked like Chicago and New Orleans had a Siemian-for-Dalton swap somehow.
What’s important, though, is that the 34-year-old quarterback knows his role with the Saints.
Andy Dalton says that he's the backup quarterback and he's here to help Jameis Winston however he can.
— Nick Underhill (@nick_underhill) March 31, 2022
NewOrleans.Football writer Nick Underhill tweeted, “Andy Dalton says that he’s the backup quarterback, and he’s here to help Jameis Winston however he can.”
The Saints hope that Winston will be able to play an entire year and not turn to Dalton.
But if it happens, the team will have a solid backup who can win games.
It’s what they hoped to get from Siemian, but he lost all of his four starts after taking over from Winston last season.
The Saints might waive either Book or Bortles to open a roster spot elsewhere with Dalton on board.
No Expectations For Dalton
The Bears made Dalton believe that he was their starter.
But as the season progressed, they turned to Justin Fields as their primary option under center.
With New Orleans, Dalton will continue to become a positive presence in the locker room.
He will be ready when his number is called.
Yet even he wouldn’t want that to happen, given how Winston became comfortable with the Saints’ system before he got injured.
NEXT: Malcolm Jenkins Comments On His Saints Tenure Upon His Retirement