Dalton wishes Bengals cut him earlier: Everyone knew they would draft QB

After being cut by the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday, Andy Dalton is now a free agent for the first time in his nine-year career.

But with many teams having already addressed their issues at quarterback this offseason, the veteran's options are limited. Dalton took issue with Cincinnati's approach to his future Friday in his first comments since his release.

"This year there were a good amount of quarterbacks that were available," Dalton told Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com about potential trades. "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 contract and that hurt me."

In October, the 32-year-old similarly questioned why the Bengals chose to bench him right before the trade deadline, limiting his ability to search for a new landing spot.

Dalton returned to the lineup after three games and helped lead the AFC North team to its only two wins of the year.

The Jacksonville Jaguars and New England Patriots are reportedly among the clubs interested in Dalton. Aside from those two teams, there are seemingly only backup roles available for Cincinnati's former longtime starter.

As soon as the Bengals secured the No. 1 overall pick, many assumed they would kick off a new era by drafting Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Joe Burrow.

The team did just that, and Dalton believes clubs around the league didn't push to trade for him because Cincinnati's draft intentions were so obvious.

"I'm sure teams knew (the Bengals) were going to take a quarterback No. 1 and they would release me and there was no reason to rush into anything," he said.

In addition to the selection of Burrow, Dalton didn't seem long for Cincinnati due to his $17.7-million cap hit. The Bengals were uncharacteristically aggressive in free agency, and cutting Dalton wiped his entire salary from their books.