Bengals Free Agency Thread.

[Jamie_B]

Kerrigan as DE #3 would be nice.

[BengalFanInTO]

1 hour ago, spicoli said:

I’ve always liked Kerrigan. Good depth and a strong presence in the locker room. I’d like to see it. 

 

Exactly. High character veteran that provides some depth and pass rushing options off the bench. One of the things I am really liking is the type of players that the Bengals seem to be targeting...Hendrickson, Hilton, Kerrigan, Reiff.

[|Montana Bengal|]

 

 

[|kennethmw|]

1 hour ago, BengalFanInTO said:

I probably sound like his agent but, I love the Quinton Spain re-signing. Guy has something to prove and after showing up before Week 8 he stepped in and played LG, RG and RT ably throughout the season. He's a terrific "sixth man" for the offensive line and I'd be interested to see how he can perform as a starter given an opportunity to play at a dedicated position. He 100% does not fix the need on the line but, he's a good returning player to bolster the depth.

He's been a Starter Every where he's played, 79 games in the league and 74 starts.  Walked in here and started right away.  I think he's a starter.

[LostInDaJungle]

16 hours ago, membengal said:

Well, you all are reading from the book of Hobson then, who has been talking up Pollack as by himself fixing things as the big off-season addition.

 

I was hoping/assuming they would hit T and G in FA and well, lol. And no. I don't count Spain as addressing G. 

If Spain is their last move on the OLine, they'd better have a lot of faith in their backup QB.

I've been playing Madden '21 Franchise mode.... Fixing the line is the first priority. Jonah Williams is the only bright spot as a C- player in a world of D rated chumps. I'd say that's pretty accurate.

[|kennethmw|]

1 hour ago, spicoli said:

I’ve always liked Kerrigan. Good depth and a strong presence in the locker room. I’d like to see it. 

I agree.  Think he would be a nice addition to the room, as well.  

[BengalFanInTO]

28 minutes ago, LostInDaJungle said:

If Spain is their last move on the OLine, they'd better have a lot of faith in their backup QB.

I've been playing Madden '21 Franchise mode.... Fixing the line is the first priority. Jonah Williams is the only bright spot as a C- player in a world of D rated chumps. I'd say that's pretty accurate.

 

Don't worry! A WR at #5 will fix the line. Nothing to be concerned about.

[spicoli]

1 hour ago, Montana Bengal said:

 

 

 

Bye bye Shawn Williams.

[|Montana Bengal|]

 

 

[BengalFanInTO]

1 hour ago, spicoli said:

 

Bye bye Shawn Williams.

 

Yup. 10-15 years ago, Shawn Williams could have been a beast of a SS. Dude can unload on WRs. Unfortunately, that's not allowed in today's NFL making his "kind" obsolete.

[claptonrocks]

2 hours ago, BengalFanInTO said:

 

Don't worry! A WR at #5 will fix the line. Nothing to be concerned about.

Some here think that would be the answer to fixing the offense..

Like Lost said..

One C tackle abd the rest all Ds..

Yeah let's draft a receiver first.

Shiny cars with a shit engine..

Jeez..

 

 

[snarkster]

8 hours ago, membengal said:

Kerrigan in a rotation at Edge w/ Hendrickson and Hubbard is a definite improvement for this team. Hope it gets done. 

There's Kareem for depth and some interesting edge rushers that may be there in rounds 2-4 as well.

[Jason]

7 hours ago, claptonrocks said:

Some here think that would be the answer to fixing the offense..

Like Lost said..

One C tackle abd the rest all Ds..

Yeah let's draft a receiver first.

Shiny cars with a shit engine..

Jeez..

 

 

This is a deep tackle draft.  One does not have to be taken at 5.  Especially since we signed Reiff.  Had we not, I'd be all on board with Sewell or bust.  But we have 2 guys who can start right now.  And a stud WR will have a greater impact on the offense than a stud tackle.  Chase at 5 and Leatherwood or Cosmi, or the kid from ND at 38 will make this offense much better.  

 

That said, I won't be mad if they take Sewell.

[MichaelWeston]

15 minutes ago, Jason said:

 And a stud WR will have a greater impact on the offense than a stud tackle.  

This is not accurate. 

 

We were on pace for the most yards ever last year with AJ Green being terrible. Anyone who isn't a negative is an upgrade. A stud OT effects this team for 10 years

[T-Dub]

46 minutes ago, MichaelWeston said:

This is not accurate. 

 

 

 

 

You're either being polite or have a gift for understatement because the idea that a WR will have more impact than an OT is flat-out idiotic.  Still trying to understand how signing one average-ish RT for a year solves everything.

 

I'd like to think the team knows better but after last year I can't convince myself they give a shit.  Sure seems like they were willing to ride the fan excitement over Burrow then turn around and throw him to the wolves.

 

Signing Reiff for the season and a bunch of press conferences have not convinced me otherwise.

[I_C_Deadpeople]

Bill Polian was on Sirius radio tonight talking  about the the NFC East; said none of the teams have good OT’s and he said - you can talk about WR’s and weapons all day long but if you have no tackles and OL it will not matter. 

[T-Dub]

1 hour ago, I_C_Deadpeople said:

Bill Polian was on Sirius radio tonight talking  about the the NFC East; said none of the teams have good OT’s and he said - you can talk about WR’s and weapons all day long but if you have no tackles and OL it will not matter. 

 

 

AND ANOTHER THING

 

Lost in all this talk about protecting Burrow is Joe Mixon.  Imagine what that guy could do if he wasn't getting hit in the backfield every time he got the ball.  Maybe someday we might even have an offense that doesn't piss down its leg and go all pass-wacky at the earliest opportunity?

[claptonrocks]

1 hour ago, I_C_Deadpeople said:

Bill Polian was on Sirius radio tonight talking  about the the NFC East; said none of the teams have good OT’s and he said - you can talk about WR’s and weapons all day long but if you have no tackles and OL it will not matter. 

We can all agree on that.

We disagree on who and when to take one or go for a weapon ..

Valid points on whoever or whenever..

We re going ti draft a very good player if we stay at 5 no matter what.

 

 

 

[snarkster]

Bengals said to be showing interest in Viking free agent interior G/C Brett Jones.  Graded out at 77.6 overall on 138 snaps with 0 penalties and 1 sack allowed.  Seems to be a lot of competition from Packers, Vikes & others, but looks to be a better target than Easton.  Would be a huge get, IMO and open up the draft a good bit.  He turns 30 soon.

[snarkster]

I'd love to see them eke out another 3 or 4 decent signings, but don't think we';; be that lucky

 

G/C Brett Jones (MIN) or Austin Blythe (LAR)

EG/DE/OLB Ryan Kerrigan (WFT) or Justin Houston (IND) or Aldon Smith (DAL)

WR Sammy Watkins (KCC) or TY Hilton (IND) or (Other)

[|High School Harry|]

Right now it looks to me like the Bengals D is shaping up to be a bunch

of killer Defensive Linemen and smart, good cover Defensive Backs and

the Linebackers an afterthought.

[snarkster]

From what I've seen, it seems those that are so adamant about tackle or bust at #5 think oh well, we've got two top receivers, that's plenty, why do we need more?  Several reasons.

 

1.  What if Boyd or Higgins are dinged up and miss a game(s), then you're down to one front end receiver.

2.  You look at the receivers Burrow had @ LSU.  He really spread it around and I have no doubt he'll do so for the Bengals (especially if he has the quality targets).

3.  To me, the quality of OL's likely to be available in round two will be closer to those sitting at 5 than what receivers will be there in the second round compared to guys like Chase, Pitts and even Waddle.

4.  They need another speed guy to take the top off the D.

5.  They addressed the Oline in FA, but nothing when it comes to receiving.  You've got Hopkins, Price, Spain, S'u-Filo, Adeniji, Reiff, Williams, Johnson and quite-possible another FA before their done (Jones?).  That's eight or nine guys before you even get to the draft and in my eyes that's already an upgrade..  There are some seasons they don't even carry more than nine.  Yeah, it would be out-standing to add a Sewell, Slater, Darrishaw or Vera-Tucker, but it would still be pretty nice to add a Leatherwood, Cosmi, Davis or a couple of others in round two (as well as an interior developmental guy later in the draft).

6.  No guarantee that one of those 1st  Round tackles will even see much time a tackle in 2021.

7.  I believe having Pollack back alone represents a significant OL upgrade in itself.

8.  Again, they've not even addressed the receiving room yet.  I believe even if they were to sign a Sammy Watkins or a TY Hilton, they'll still need a frontline WR and a strong-receiving TE.  If they don't sign anyone pre-draft they'll probably need two wideouts. (Would love Chase, Brevin Jordan and a speed/slot guy like Rondale Moore to go with Tate and Thomas or Morgan behind Higgins & Boyd).

9. Giving Geaux a wider, talented mix of receiver also helps the OLine and Mixon as well.

10.  Adding another elite receiver (or hopefully two) makes it tougher on opposing DT's to game plan against the Bengals the an OL.

 

I'm fine with taking an OL at #5 and will be giddy on draft day, but I just can't see why anyone would be pissin' themselves over taking an elite offensive weapon and leaving the OLineman until Rd. 2

 

Hey, I didn't even list (11) Burrow's connection and familiarity with Chase and (12) Mikey Boy & the clan do love them some shiny offensive weapons.

[Jamie_B]

7 hours ago, T-Dub said:

 

 

AND ANOTHER THING

 

Lost in all this talk about protecting Burrow is Joe Mixon.  Imagine what that guy could do if he wasn't getting hit in the backfield every time he got the ball.  Maybe someday we might even have an offense that doesn't piss down its leg and go all pass-wacky at the earliest opportunity?

 

 

I think you are going to have to come to terms with the idea that this is a passing league, and let go of your running game biases. 

[Jamie_B]

1 hour ago, High School Harry said:

Right now it looks to me like the Bengals D is shaping up to be a bunch

of killer Defensive Linemen and smart, good cover Defensive Backs and

the Linebackers an afterthought.

 

 

My concern about the D is we got better up front but other than Mike Hilton, who is ok against the pass but more used for his ability to blitz, that we got weaker in the backfield. It feels like we are putting all our chips in getting to the QB and stopping the running game. I like it but good QBs are going to get their passes out, and I worry that against the better QBs we will struggle because other than Bates (And maybe Tray Waynes? Who was hurt all last year so we dont know what he can do in this D) I'm not entierly comfortable with our DBs.

[MichaelWeston]

24 minutes ago, snarkster said:

From what I've seen, it seems those that are so adamant about tackle or bust at #5 think oh well, we've got two top receivers, that's plenty, why do we need more?  Several reasons.

 

1.  What if Boyd or Higgins are dinged up and miss a game(s), then you're down to one front end receiver. 

Every team in the league has this issue. Our WRs are above average for the league. With a top 5 WR/TE we have the best receiving group in the NFL.

2.  You look at the receivers Burrow had @ LSU.  He really spread it around and I have no doubt he'll do so for the Bengals (especially if he has the quality targets).

He can spread it around with the group we have. He was on pace for the most yards ever for a Bengals QB last year. 

3.  To me, the quality of OL's likely to be available in round two will be closer to those sitting at 5 than what receivers will be there in the second round compared to guys like Chase, Pitts and even Waddle.

This might be true, but if you don't get a WR in RD 2 you are fine. If you don't get a starting lineman your team is set back another year. Drafting Sewell or Slater gives you a 10 year starter to protect Burrow, who was hit a ridiculous amount last year. 

4.  They need another speed guy to take the top off the D.

This is true, doesn't have to be RD 1. Could just be Damiere Byrd. If Burrow is an elite QB he shouldn't need 3 elite pass catchers. 

5.  They addressed the Oline in FA, but nothing when it comes to receiving.  You've got Hopkins, Price, Spain, S'u-Filo, Adeniji, Reiff, Williams, Johnson and quite-possible another FA before their done (Jones?).  That's eight or nine guys before you even get to the draft and in my eyes that's already an upgrade..  There are some seasons they don't even carry more than nine.  Yeah, it would be out-standing to add a Sewell, Slater, Darrishaw or Vera-Tucker, but it would still be pretty nice to add a Leatherwood, Cosmi, Davis or a couple of others in round two (as well as an interior developmental guy later in the draft).

A 32 year old RT on a 1 year deal?

6.  No guarantee that one of those 1st  Round tackles will even see much time a tackle in 2021.

They might just play Guard and take over for Reiff in 2021. Reiff and Williams both ended the season on IR. Reiff was Covid though. 

7.  I believe having Pollack back alone represents a significant OL upgrade in itself.

True but we can't count on hope. 

8.  Again, they've not even addressed the receiving room yet.  I believe even if they were to sign a Sammy Watkins or a TY Hilton, they'll still need a frontline WR and a strong-receiving TE.  If they don't sign anyone pre-draft they'll probably need two wideouts. (Would love Chase, Brevin Jordan and a speed/slot guy like Rondale Moore to go with Tate and Thomas or Morgan behind Higgins & Boyd).

The WR room is easily improvable. Green hurt the team last year. 

9. Giving Geaux a wider, talented mix of receiver also helps the OLine and Mixon as well.

Not if he doesn't have time to get the ball off. 

10.  Adding another elite receiver (or hopefully two) makes it tougher on opposing DT's to game plan against the Bengals the an OL.

True, I think you meant DC's

 

24 minutes ago, snarkster said:

I'm fine with taking an OL at #5 and will be giddy on draft day, but I just can't see why anyone would be pissin' themselves over taking an elite offensive weapon and leaving the OLineman until Rd. 2

This one is simple. We have ignored the OL for years, to our detriment. It has cost us at least 3 years of being competitive and to keep doing so is just insanity. We have a chance to get an elite guy who is there for the next decade. We should do it. 

24 minutes ago, snarkster said:

Hey, I didn't even list (11) Burrow's connection and familiarity with Chase and (12) Mikey Boy & the clan do love them some shiny offensive weapons.