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          Don't call it a rebuild, but Bengals doing just that by sitting Andy Dalton

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          Bengals need to evaluate Finley (0:26)

          Chris Mortensen contends that the Bengals are trying to figure out if Ryan Finley is their quarterback of the future. (0:26)

          • Ben Baby, ESPN Staff WriterOct 29, 2019, 07:38 PM ET
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              Ben Baby covers the Cincinnati Bengals for ESPN. He joined the company in July 2019. Prior to ESPN, he worked for various newspapers in Texas, most recently at The Dallas Morning News where he covered college sports. He provides daily coverage of the Bengals for ESPN.com, while making appearances on SportsCenter, ESPN's NFL shows and ESPN Radio programs. A native of Grapevine, Texas, he graduated from the University of North Texas with a bachelor's degree in journalism. He is an adjunct journalism professor at Southern Methodist University and a member of the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA).
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          CINCINNATI -- Andy Dalton had many different conversations with coach Zac Taylor this season.

          The phone calls in the middle of the night, the postgame chats in Taylor’s office, the normal conversations between quarterback and play-caller.

          But the one on Tuesday between Taylor and his veteran quarterback was different. And given the first eight weeks of the season, it was inevitable. Taylor informed Dalton he was going to be replaced as starting quarterback by rookie Ryan Finley.

          In case the 0-8 record didn’t say it, the switch to Finley was also an admission that this season hasn't gone according to plan. When Taylor arrived in Cincinnati in February after a two-year stint as an assistant for the Los Angeles Rams, he didn’t anticipate leading a rebuilding project.

          And even after Tuesday’s announcement, Taylor didn’t want to use that three-syllable word to describe the state of the franchise. Frankly, he didn’t need to. The decision to go with the rookie quarterback said enough.

          "Everything that I’ve seen from Ryan shows us that he’s capable," Taylor said of the fourth-round draft pick. "Again, you have to get into some games against some starting defenses to know what you have there, and that’s what we’ll find out."

          While Taylor insisted the primary focus for the Bengals is winning games in 2019, determining Finley’s NFL potential is important given the state of the franchise.

          Cincinnati is one of two winless teams in the NFL. ESPN’s current projections give the Bengals a 90.2 percent of having a top-five pick in the 2020 draft. Should Cincinnati continue to struggle and be awarded one of the top picks in April, it will be in a position to take one of the top available quarterbacks, such as LSU’s Joe Burrow.

          If Finley has a promising finish to the season, it’s unclear if the Bengals will use a first-round pick on a quarterback. Cincinnati hasn’t done that since it selected Carson Palmer with the top overall pick in 2003.

          In training camp, Finley quickly ascended to the No. 2 spot on the depth chart, replacing Jeff Driskel. The former Boise State and North Carolina State quarterback completed 73.4 percent of his passes for 414 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.

          "I just believe in him, because he's a very strong competitor," said Bengals receiver Tyler Boyd. "He had a real great preseason. All the guys seen it, and every guy in this locker room could admit to that. I feel like he could bring a different element to the table."

          In his short tenure, Taylor has shown a willingness to play rookies and shake up the depth chart. In the season opener at Seattle, undrafted wide receiver Damion Willis earned a start and fourth-round pick Michael Jordan started at left guard, although they eventually lost those spots. Taylor showed on Tuesday that philosophy extends to the quarterback position.

          "It just shows you that no one’s job is safe," defensive end Sam Hubbard said. "You’ve gotta perform."

          The Bengals are all but guaranteed their fourth straight losing season. If they can’t win two of their final eight games, this will be the worst year in franchise history.

          Finley will not be taking over an easy situation. According to NFL Next Gen Stats data, Dalton’s average time to throw of 2.41 seconds was the lowest of any quarterback with at least 100 attempts in any of the past three seasons. The need to get the ball out quickly has been out of necessity. The Bengals’ pass block win rate of 39 percent is the worst since it started being tracked in 2017 (ESPN metric powered by NFL Next Gen Stats).

          But if the move to Finley works out, it could change the outlook for a franchise that hasn’t won a playoff game since 1991. It could also give a scrutinized front office a quarterback to build around, which it hasn’t had since Dalton led the Bengals to the playoffs in each of his first five seasons.

          One could argue the rebuilding process started when Taylor was hired in February to replace Marvin Lewis, who coached the Bengals for the previous 16 seasons. It continued Tuesday as Taylor made a move in hopes of finding Cincinnati’s quarterback of the future.

          "I just felt like now is the time," Taylor said. "If you’re going to do it, let’s go ahead and make this switch and get behind Ryan and try to win these next couple of games."