Veteran quarterback Andy Dalton has signed for the New Orleans Saints.

The 34-year-old had been a free agent after leaving the Chicago Bears at the end of the 2021 season and is expected to serve as back-up to Jameis Winston.

New Saints head coach Dennis Allen confirmed his team now primarily plans to use versatile QB Taysom Hill – who has previously competed with Winston for the starting job – as a tight end going forward.

"I think the role for Taysom really is going to be a lot more of the kind of F tight end, move tight end type of role -  that's the direction that we need to move with him, because I think he can be one of the better players in the league in that role," Allen said.

"If Jameis is out there playing quarterback, I don't really like having Taysom next to me on the sideline. So I think you'll see him more in that type of role."

The Saints had been in the race to sign Deshaun Watson before he opted instead for the Cleveland Browns, leading New Orleans back to re-signing Winston to a two-year deal after his contract expired at the end of last season.

Reports indicate the deal for Winston is worth a base value of $28million, of which $21m is guaranteed.

Although the Saints have not released details of Dalton's deal, reports suggest it is a one-year contract worth up to $6m, with $3m guaranteed.

Dalton has spent the majority of his career with the Cincinnati Bengals, who drafted him in 2011 and where he played for nine seasons before moving to the Dallas Cowboys in 2020.

He led Cincinnati to the playoffs in each of his first five seasons and is the Bengals' all-time leader in passer rating (87.5), 300-yard passing games (28), winning percentage (53.3), completions (2,757), touchdowns (204) and touchdown-to-interception ratio (1.73).

Dalton made just six starts for the Bears in 2021, throwing for a total of 1,515 yards and passing for eight touchdowns. However, it was the worst season of his career for interception percentage (3.8).