CINCINNATI - Just as Joe Burrow finds his place among the Cincinnati Bengals, the team's long-time quarterback is saying his final goodbyes. 

According to ESPN, the Bengals have decided to release the team's veteran quarterback, Andy Dalton.

Dalton served as the Bengals' primary starter since 2011. The 32-year-old led Cincinnati to the playoffs from 2011 to 2015, losing in the wild-card round each time, and is the franchise's career leader in touchdown passes.

The news of Dalton's release comes only one week after the Bengals drafted Burrow with the top overall pick. 

Burrow's track record spoke for itself, the former LSU QB threw a record-breaking 60 touchdowns in 2019 and won the Heisman Trophy as he led the Tigers to the national championship.

From 2011 to 2015, Andy Dalton had the third-most wins among NFL starting quarterbacks. But after fracturing his right thumb late in the 2015 season and missing the rest of the year, his numbers went in the other direction.

Dalton was set to earn $17.7 million in the final season of a six-year contract worth $96 million. After the Bengals went on a spending spree this summer, Cincinnati did not have the salary-cap space to keep Dalton and sign its incoming rookie class.

According to a source, prior to the decision to release Dalton, the Bengals tried to trade the quarterback, adding that Dalton "requested the opportunity to see what's out there."

Before Burrow's selection, Dalton was the last quarterback that the Bengals drafted in the first or second round.

Dalton was 70-61-2 as the Bengals' starter. Along with his franchise-record 204 touchdown passes, he is second in passing yards with 31,594, behind only Ken Anderson (32,838).