Patriots reportedly didn't pursue QB Andy Dalton

Andy Dalton is officially heading back to his home state of Texas, joining the Dallas Cowboys on a one-year deal worth up to $7 million.

While he did draw interest from a few teams, the New England Patriots reportedly weren't one of them, according to Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio.

The Patriots didn't select a quarterback in the 2020 NFL Draft, and haven't signed any notable free agent QBs since Tom Brady departed the organization for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, thus gearing up for a 2020 season with Jarrett Stidham and Brian Hoyer.

It's not surprising the Patriots haven't signed a quarterback to take over for Stidham ... they're pretty confident in their situation at the moment, and it seems that they're pretty high on the second-year quarterback.

Of course Stidham has little to no NFL experience, but he was pretty solid during his college career at Auburn. In two seasons with the Tigers, Stidham threw for 5,952 yards, 36 touchdowns and 11 interceptions with a 63.6 completion percentage.

If things don't work out with Stidham, the Patriots can look to Hoyer, but that may not be the best option either.

With the quarterback room likely set for the upcoming season, things could look pretty different come 2021. New England could target Deshaun Watson in free agency, or even make a run at one of the top quarterbacks in next year's draft.