Andy Dalton's season is over, but it doesn't sound like his Bengals career is coming to a close.

After Dalton's season ended with a thumb injury that he sustained while chasing down a shotgun snap gone wrong on Sunday, he spoke with reporters for the first time on Friday. He sounded like he expects to be back in Cincinnati next year.

"Everybody here's been behind me. I've never doubted that at all. I think from the top down, the support that I've received is what you want," Dalton said, per the team's website. "I never had a doubt."

On Sunday, another quarterback besides Dalton will start for the Bengals for the first time since 2015 when the team faces the Broncos in Cincinnati in a game that can be streamed on fuboTV (Try for free).

Meanwhile, Bengals coach Marvin Lewis continued to support his quarterback, making the claim that a lot of other teams around the league would love to have Dalton.

"A lot of franchises would love to have Andy. If you talk with any GM or head coach, they're all trying to find Andy Dalton," Lewis said. "Each and every one of them. You find out right away when you don't have a guy that's competent, that can deliver accurate throws and can handle the offense and handle the planning that goes into week to week to week. The quarterback is such a person that has to be able to handle the changes of the defensive schemes week to week and has to come in on Tuesday and have an idea about what is about to occur and be able to apply it and help the rest of his teammates bring it to life Wednesday and through the rest of the week and on Sunday. That's the quarterback's responsibility."

"Competent" is probably the best way to describe the way Dalton plays quarterback. He's been around since 2011 and in that timeframe, he's started 120 regular season games, during which he's completed 62.3 percent of his passes, averaged 7.2 yards per attempt, thrown 188 touchdowns and 104 interceptions, and accumulated an 88.8 passer rating. He has, at least, gone 68-50-2 as the starter, but he's also 0-4 in the playoffs with one touchdown, six picks, and a 57.8 passer rating. Everything about Dalton screams "competent," but in today's NFL, competent quarterbacking can only get you so far unless you have an out-of-this-world defense to lean on. The Bengals don't have an out-of-this-world defense, which is why they're sitting at 5-6.

Dalton has two more seasons remaining on his contract worth an average salary of roughly $17 million per season. But the Bengals can cut Dalton without any financial consequences, so it's entirely fair to question if they should roll into next season with him as their starter. In the past two drafts, the Bengals have had chances to draft Dalton's successor, but have declined to do so.

Before this year's draft, they traded down in the first round in order to upgrade the offensive line. They doubled down on that strategy by taking center Billy Price with the 21st pick. At that point, only Lamar Jackson (out of all the first-round quarterback prospects) was still available. The Bengals then watched the Ravens take Jackson at the end of the first round. Jackson is already starting for them. In the 2017 draft, the Bengals took receiver John Ross with the ninth pick. Patrick Mahomes was selected one pick later and Deshaun Watson went two slots after Mahomes.

At 5-6, the Bengals appear to be on track to wind up with a high pick in next year's draft. So, they should have a chance to draft a quarterback if that's the path they decide to take. Based on Lewis' comments, the Bengals are satisfied with what they've already got, but it's worth noting that they could change their mind by the offseason or they could draft a quarterback and keep Dalton as a bridge quarterback -- not to mention, there's no guarantee Lewis is even the Bengals' coach come April.

In the meantime, Jeff Driskel will be under center for the remainder of the season, if he can stay healthy.