Bengals have officially benched veteran QB Andy Dalton

The Cincinnati Bengals have stumbled out of the gate to the 2019 season, dropping their first eight games that have all but eliminated them from playoff contention.

In response to this porous start, the Bengals have decided to bench longtime starter Andy Dalton ahead of their Week 10 matchup against the Baltimore Ravens with rookie Ryan Finley taking over as the starter moving forward. (h/t Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk)

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Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports that the Bengals will bench Andy Dalton and hand the reins of the offense over to Finley when they return from their bye to face the Ravens in Week 10.

The writing had been on the wall through the Bengals’ struggles this season as there have continued to be serious questions about Dalton’s long-term future with the franchise. The decision to move on from the former Pro Bowler was something that the team was going to make the transition to at some point eventually this season.

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Cincinnati has struggled to find success over the last three years without a playoff appearance. The hope was that the addition of a new head coach in Zac Taylor would help bring the best out of Dalton, but that hasn’t been the case.

The veteran quarterback has thrown for 2,252 yards with nine touchdowns to eight interceptions along with completing 60 percent of his passes while holding a 79.2 passer rating through the first eight games played. More than just losing his starting job, it could mean this is the last year he is with the franchise.