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'Dear Cincinnati': Andy Dalton thanks city with video message

Andy Dalton has a lot to thank Cincinnati for, and did so Sunday with a video to fans. Dalton, who was released by the Bengals on Friday, signed a one-year deal with the Dallas Cowboys the following night.

Dalton began the clip on Instagram with “Dear Cincinnati” and interspersed game highlights with clips from his foundation and messages to fans.

Dalton, 32, was the Bengals’ 35th overall pick in the 2011 draft and has the second-most quarterback starts in franchise history. It was long expected he’d be on his way out of town, especially after the team took quarterback Joe Burrow with the first overall pick in last month’s draft.

The same year he was drafted, Dalton and his wife, JJ, started the Andy & JJ Dalton Foundation. It provides “support, resources and experiences to seriously ill and physically challenged children and their families.”

Andy Dalton delivered a video message to thank Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Gary Landers)
Andy Dalton delivered a video message to thank Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Gary Landers)

One of the foundation’s most famous moments came at the end of the 2017 season. When the Buffalo Bills broke their playoff drought with help from a Bengals victory in the season finale, Bills fans donated more than $415,000.

And when the Bengals released their longtime quarterback, the foundation again saw a spike in donations. In the first 24 hours, it received about 900 donations totaling more than $25,000, per Cincinnati.com. Many were in the amount of $14, or some variation of it, for his jersey number.

Dalton grew up in Katy, Texas, just outside of Houston and played collegiately at TCU in Fort Worth. He used to spend his offseasons in Dallas, where he now will back up fifth-year starter Dak Prescott.

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