Bengals place Andy Dalton on injured reserve; claim QB Tom Savage off waivers

The Cincinnati Bengals have a new quarterback in the wake of Andy Dalton suffering a season-ending thumb injury on Sunday. Dalton is being placed on IR; his season is over.

As a result, the team claimed Tom Savage off of waivers after the San Francisco 49ers waived him over the weekend.

Dalton’s injury was initially reported as a sprain, but it turned out to be much worse:

Savage (6-4, 230; Pittsburgh), a fifth-year player, entered the NFL as a fourth-round pick of the Houston Texans in 2014. He was with the Texans through the 2017 season, and then joined the New Orleans Saints this past offseason. He was waived by the Saints on final cuts, then signed on Oct. 16 with the San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers waived him on Saturday.

For his career, Savage has played in 13 games (nine starts) and completed 181 of 315 passes for 2000 yards, five TDs and seven INTs. He’s been very underwhelming with every team he’s played for, but at this point in the season, the waiver wire isn’t exactly riddled with franchise quarterbacks.

Still, the hope is Savage will never see a snap while Jeff Driskel takes over the starting role. He’s shown plenty of promise in his limited regular-season playing time, though he has yet to make an NFL start. That will change in Week 13 when the Broncos comes to Paul Brown Stadium.

Dalton suffered a right thumb injury on Sunday vs. Cleveland. He completed 226 of 365 passes for 2566 yards, 21 touchdowns and 11 interceptions this season (89.6 passer rating).

Here is the injury: