BengalFanInTO

The day the Bengals drafted Ja'Marr Chase is the day it was apparent Tee Higgins would be leaving. To this day, despite what many others think, I feel the Bengals should have taken Penei Sewell. But, they decided that Tee wasn't their #1 WR though and took Chase. All good. Chase is a hell of a player and I'm glad he's here but, on that day, Tee Higgins' long term future was decided. He isn't staying. He'll play out this season, tag him next season and then he's gone. Draft another WR to take his place early in the next draft and go from there. Burrow has all the money now (despite many thinking he was taking a team friendly deal - hilarious) so the rest of the decisions need to be more cautious. Too many positions to pay and to have two WR paid in the Top 10. It isn't feasible. Enjoy him while he's here because Tee Higgins will be elsewhere in maximum, two years.

Burrow was hot garbage today. May have been the worst QB performance of the weekend. Atrocious. He should donate his game check to a charity. I love the guy. My favourite Bengal ever after only a few years but today was awful.

If he somehow ends up in Cincinnati I’d like the stupid “feed me” celebration after runs banned.

I’m speculating but Elliott would have to make $4-$5 million. That would mean Elliott and Mixon at $16-$17 million. That’s not feasible in my opinion. Elliott is a far superior pass blocker. Mixon is the better runner. Neither is dynamic. Do I think the Bengals should pay Elliott and Mixon $16-$17 million combined? No. Do I think the Bengals should pay Mixon $12 million this season? No. Would I be OK with the Bengals signing Elliott, restructuring Mixon and paying them $11-$12 million collectively? Maybe. Would I be OK with replacing Mixon with Elliott, cutting Mixon and taking a dynamic RB in the draft? I suppose. I will be honest. I’m not super amped about the possibility of Elliott signing here. I’m also not overly enthusiastic about using the Bengals 1st Round draft pick on a RB. Bottom line…I don’t like much about the RB situation or the options to fix it.

Irv Smith Jr…you are our only hope

It might be old school but, I am a trenches guy. A first round pick for the lines is never a bad thing. I am hoping for an OT or a DT. RB, CB and/or TE can come later. A few more minor signings will likely be needed in free agency to make that even more of a viable direction.

I really like the signing of Nick Scott. The guy has some dog in him. I think he'll fit well with this defense. Good contract, too. If they land a veteran TE and re-sign Apple (or Ya-Sin, Peters, Griffin or Hill) and Flowers, I will be pleased with this free agency period.

Hey, I hope I am surprised. It seems at the moment the Bengals are in a position of putting a square peg in a round hole with Williams. They are clearly moving in another direction at LT and needing to find a position to move him to, whether it be ROT or LOG and justifying his $12 million salary. Although trading him would obviously hurt their depth on the offensive line, getting $12 million back against the cap would be awesome.

I would say I have an above average knowledge of the NFL's salary cap but, am by no stretch an expert. How does this work from a cap standpoint (if it were to occur)? I know in the NHL a team trading a player to another team can keep a portion of the cap to make it easier for another team to take on the player's existing contract and cap hit. It's actually a huge part of trades these days in that league and I find it weird and also confusing. So, under the NFL cap structure, how does this work in your potential scenario? Do the Bengals split the payment for the contract and in turn split the cap hit accordingly? Or do they just split the payment and not the hit? Or, just the cap hit and not the payment? Not taking shots, I am legitimately asking as I have no clue how it works.

According to some fairly reliable posts on Twitter, the Bengals have Cody Ford slated as a right tackle. He's even listed on their site as an OT. For love of all that is good and Joey, I hope he's not their answer as the starting ROT this year. That would be fucking terrible.

I'd be happy to see the Bengals trade Jonah Williams for some draft capital and to obtain cap space. Question is, who'd be willing to take on his $12 million contract and give up assets to do so?

I'm not certain they don't have the money for both. There are moves that could be made. But, I also would figure they are not looking to spend cap on two starting caliber safeties when they drafted Dax Hill in the first round last year. Additionally, if they are in fact extending Joe Burrow this season, then I would then think you are 100% correct in your assessment. I'm not even sure where they are getting the money for that with the current roster. Taylor Rapp is more of a box safety but has also played at free safety. Nick Scott started at free safety last season. I'm wondering if one will be a better fit than the other for the system and considering they have Hill who I assume they see as the free safety. The more I have looked at the two, my preference is actually Scott but, I'd be very pleased with Rapp too.

Julian Love is #1 on my list of free agent safeties for the Bengals to sign but, Taylor Rapp is #2. He'd be a solid addition. If they could sign him, I'd be happy closing out free agency with: Tre Flowers A Veteran TE CB Depth Offensive Line Depth Back Up QB

Before the Bengals signed Cody Ford they essentially had zero backup OGs on the roster. Unless you consider Jackson Carman an OG and then, they had one. Even Scharping is a free agent. I've got to think they paid Ford very modest dollars on this contract. If that's the case, it's a smart risk. He was an early second round draft pick in 2019. He's been all but a bust so far but, he's suffered injuries three of the last four seasons and been bounced around the offensive line. Let's see what Pollack can do with him and worst case, I'm guessing he'll be a cheap cut.

No, it's not. $3-$5 million might be OK. $7 million is far too much. That would put him ahead of Mike Hilton, on par with Germaine Pratt and just behind Awuzie and Chase this coming season. Especially on a three year deal for a guy about to turn 30. It is pretty cool when he flexes and screams after making a catch though.

Bell maybe, Hurst not. Especially not at the price. He has long red hair and and screams and flexes when he catches the ball. It's super fun. But, he's a very average TE that had a lot more chances on the Bengals with Burrow throwing to him and other receiving options giving him more opportunity than he would have elsewhere. I'm not trying to slam the guy. He's a cool cat but he's average at best across the board statistically, has below average speed to create big plays and/or create separation and was not a significant red zone target. So, why keep him? His departure makes perfect sense for both him and the Bengals.

And that Jonah Williams played a third of his career at Alabama at RT. The Bengals definitely have more options today than they did yesterday at this time. I think Collins is the easy cut (or injury settlement) due to the fact that they can save about $6 million against the cap in doing so. I also don't know that this is guaranteed to happen. I have to believe Jonah Williams is staying as I cannot see anyone trading and taking on his $12 million salary. I do believe there is a cap saving cut coming. The Bengals over the past few years have waited to get the ball rolling and then have cut salary further into free agency (Geno Atkins, Bobby Hart, etc.).

I would 100% think this is accurate. This is his first opportunity to make big dollars. I can't see him taking a discount contract anywhere. I'd assume this is why he's still on the market. For me, I'd just like to have a guy named Chauncey on the team.

Nick Scott is a bit of an an under the radar player, at least with fans. He's a bit green from a starting perspective despite the fact he's 27. But, the guy played basically all the defensive snaps last year at SS and plays hard and hits hard. He'd be an interesting add. Cody Ford is also an intriguing possible addition. He's essentially been a "bust" to this point but, that was more so at RT. He's just too slow to play tackle. My hope would be that he's being looked at as a depth at OG, not a possible replacement at RT.

Ok. I’m going to say it. I think Orlando Brown Jr is a Top 3 RT but “only” a Top 15-20 LT. Don’t hate me. I think he’s really good, not great. I’m not trying to piss on the parade. I think this is still a terrific move. I just hope people aren’t expecting Orlando Pace. Don’t get me wrong. I’m happy. I’ve wanted an upgrade from Jonah for years and getting a 4 time Pro Bowl tackle who is only 26 at that price is a HUGE win. The Bengals line suddenly looks very, very good. The money that the Falcons gave Bates is essentially what the Bengals just gave OBJ. So, in a weird way the Bengals traded Bates for Brown Jr. Who wouldn’t be good with that?!? The price tag plus his age plus filling a significant deficiency at an important area of need makes this a very good deal.

I didn’t see him as the #1 RB. I saw him as a replacement for Perine essentially. Top level pass blocker, great short yardage, enough speed and can catch out of the backfield. He’s also a super passionate player and a popular locker room guy. Also good enough to be #1 in the case of injury. I just feel for the price he would have been a nice addition.

Jamaal Williams going to the Saints on a three year deal at only $12 million with $8 million guaranteed seems like a missed opportunity.

I'm not going to disagree with the quality of the GMs you reference but the Eagles are getting stripped on defense. They look like they're going to lose six of eleven starters from last year including three of four from their secondary, two linebackers and their anchor on the defensive line. They've replaced none of these players. They also "traded" Miles Sanders for Rashaad Penny, a downgrade in my opinion.

Aside from Bates, who we all knew was leaving, the Bengals have lost relatively average to below average players thus far. And when I say lost, they might have planned and/or assumed these players would be leaving. We feel we "lost" them. As we all surmise, Bell may have been the biggest surprise. I am very much on the "not panicked" end of the scale of what I am seeing as a reaction from Bengals fans but, I do have one concern. The guys they are losing seem to be leadership types including one captain (Bell). I found Hurst, Bates, Bell and Perine all seemed to be popular players within the team and looked at as energy guys and/or leaders. That can be as hard to replace as talent.

Yes. I just saw Byron Murphy went to the Vikings and totally missed Wilson resigning with the Cowboys earlier. Oddly, they were my least favourite options on my list at the two positions. I’m seeing a lot of Eagles fans speculating the CJ Gardner-Johnson is coming to Cincinnati. Not sure where these feelings are coming from. No one of any credibility has reported this but, it seems to be in the heads of many PHI fans. I didn’t put him on my list as I didn’t see him as a realistic option. Maybe I’m wrong. I like some of the players on your list, too. My only one I’m not keen on is Singletary. He pass protects about as well as Mixon.