Brandon LaFell hasn't spent much time with Andy Dalton, but the wide receiver believes the Cincinnati Bengals quarterback could one day be on par with Tom Brady.

"If we continue to take the steps we're making, Andy could be a similar player like that," LaFell said.

LaFell signed with the Bengals this offseason after spending two seasons with the New England Patriots.

"Everybody respects him just like everybody respects Brady," LaFell said of Dalton's influence in Cincinnati's locker room. "How Brady demanded the best out of everybody, Andy's doing the same thing here.

"Both of those guys are smart guys. They always have the offense in the right play. They're always getting the ball to the right person at the right time. They're two different offenses, but both of those guys are winners."

The Cincinnati Bengals reached a three-year, $15.5 million contract extension with Giovani Bernard.

Bernard will be due more than $6 million in 2016 and more than $9 million over the next two years.

The average of $5.167 million per year in "new money" ranks 10th among running backs.

Bernard has split time in the Bengals backfield over the past three seasons, most recently with Jeremy Hill. In 43 regular-season games, Bernard has rushed 492 times for 2,105 yards, caught 148 passes for 1,335 yards and scored 17 total touchdowns.

Carlos Dunlap has set a lofty goal for the 2016 season -- he wants to break Michael Strahan's single-season sack record of 22.5.

Strahan set the record back in 2001.

"It's hard to get (20 or more)," Dunlap said. "Most of the guys who get those 20 sacks, they're like the only one (on their team) at plus-10. When you've got three guys who can get 10 sacks and a nose tackle who can get five, it's spreading the wealth. So that's good for our team."

Last season, J.J. Watt led the NFL with 17.5 sacks, one year after Justin Houston finished with 20.