2024 Offensive offseason overview

[MichaelWeston]

It's early, so lots of names will change but it's always fun to look at the offseason

 

 

Coaches: I get the feeling Trey Brown gets a GM job (possibly LVR) and he takes Callahan with him. Callahan probably takes Walters with him or adds his Dad as OC so he can steal him for the offensive line. He has a bunch of connections so his OC may be from outside. We were told that continuity in the coaching staff would be helpful. The Defense was terrible this year and we all questioned the play-calling. I am excited about coaching staff changes. I wish Taylor would give up calling plays.

 

Quarterback:

QB

Burrow 29

Browning 25

McCarron 24

UDFA-Tagovailoa

 

Joe Burrow will be back for the next 5 years. I am hopeful that they somehow find a way to intermingle the success they had with Browning with how Burrow likes to play. Things seemed to come easier for Browning at times. Burrow always did things with a higher degree of difficulty.

 

Jake Browning certainly showed enough to be a solid backup. He had some atrocious throws against the Stealers, but that’s to be expected. He is essentially a 27-year-old rookie. What I like about him is that he will take risks and seems to learn from his mistakes. Barring a complete meltdown over the last two weeks he will be the backup next year.

 

AJ McCarron will be fascinating. Probably the first of his case. The team loves to have QBs around and he has experience in the city. Having him in the room during the season and potentially on the field has huge positives. Yet, he will be a free agent and they probably won’t look to re-sign him right away. He had an MVP-caliber season for the St. Louis Battlehawks of the XFL in the Spring of 2023. He mentioned that he played there because he wanted to have his kids see him play and in the NFL, it wouldn’t be guaranteed. With an XFL-USFL merge the Battlehawks are back as one of the 8 teams in the new UFL. I think it’s likely that McCarron will bounce back to starting for the Battlehawks in the Spring and back to the Bengals for the Summer and Fall.

 

Drew Plitt was in the XFL as well and didn’t show nearly as well. Having been a familiar face for the Bengals I’m not surprised he was added. However, I am hopeful that they sign a UDFA and carry two QBs on the practice squad.

 

The Bengals seem to like guys who have had a lot of starts where they don’t have to dumb down the offense. I am very early in the process of looking at guys but here is a list so far. I would assume with Browning’s success, and the coaching room we have developed at the QB position we would be a destination for UDFAs at the position. And obviously, we don’t know who will be a UDFA.  Browning is the blueprint here not Burrow.

 

1.       Taulia Tagovailoa-Maryland

2.       Jordan Travis-Florida St

3.       Joe Milton-Tennessee

4.       Darren Grainger-GA St

5.       Emory Jones-Cincinnati

 

Tagovailoa stands out to me, but he might be back next year or transfer. He has 3-3000 yard passing seasons and a 77-37 TD to INT number. He also had 13 TDs on the ground. His yardage there isn’t great, but you can see when he leaves the pocket he is quick and can extend plays. He could stay next year, could be drafted, and could land somewhere else, but I think he has the processing, experience, and mobility we like at the position. He is a lefty though.  

Before Browning blew up one suggestion I had for a capable backup was Ryan Tannehill. He was coached by Taylor at both Texas A&M and the Dolphins.

 

Running Back

RB

Brown 27

Mixon 25

Williams 24

Draft-Shirden

McBride

Felton

 

Chase Brown is the future. There is a discernible difference when he gets the ball versus Mixon. Mixon seems to collect himself and then go. Brown just goes. Brown is averaging 4.4 per rush against Mixon’s 3.9. 11.2 per catch against Mixon’s 7.4. Brown weighs 214 so he isn’t just a complimentary back.

 

Joe Mixon has a place on this team. He is a captain and will likely land just under 1000 yards rushing with over 50 catches. He is probably our best bet as a complementary back to Brown next year. The question is, is that worth 5.75M, the number the Bengals would get back by releasing him? We could see another restructuring for him. Looking at free agents I think our best bet at the position is Brown-Mixon-Draft Pick. I am fine with moving on; however, I don’t think an obvious replacement exists. Mixon does have the 7^th most runs of 10 or more yards this year. Which is a surprise.

 

Trayveon Williams has 13 carries for 69 yards and 7 catches for 10 yards. He has 255 special teams snaps with three tackles and 12 kick returns. He is the best pass blocker of the group, and you can see he has a little ability with the ball in his hands, but he hasn’t been given much chance. I assume he will be back on another one-year deal to assume his special teams/backup RB role again.

 

Chris Evans hasn’t been given a chance. And there is probably a good reason for that. He has just 137 snaps from scrimmage in his three seasons 42 in the last two years. He does play a lot of special teams, when active, with 122 snaps this season with two tackles and two kick returns. I was very high on him, but they don’t trust him. I’d like them to move on ASAP.

 

Demetric Felton caught 18 balls for 181 yards and 2 TDs in 2021 as a rookie with the Browns. He disappeared after. He will be 26 at the start of next year. He’s likely to sign a futures deal in the offseason and be back for camp.

 

DeWayne McBride is on the Vikings practice squad. He was one of my favorites in the draft this season and I think he has starter ability. I loved his balance and ability to sneak through the cracks and keep things churning forward. He’s buried behind Mattison, Chandler, and Nwangwu all of whom are signed next year. I’d love to cut Evans and add him for the last two weeks. This would also guarantee we get him for the offseason (and 3 years after).

 

I completely understand the mentality to move on from Mixon and am not against it. I just don’t know what the solution would be in free agency. Free agency will be loaded with backs we don’t want to pay for (Henry, Jacobs, Pollard, Barkley, Ekeler, Swift). There are a couple that should be cheaper and save us over Mixon: AJ Dillon and Antonio Gibson. Gibson has the juice we are looking for. He’s also a good pass-blocker. If you could get him for, say 3M and save 3M that would be tempting. Another obvious player is Clyde Edwards-Hilarie. He was Burrows back at LSU and will be unrestricted. He has had progressively less usage since he was drafted in the first round of 2020. https://www.espn.com/nfl/player/stats/_/id/4242214/clyde-edwards-helaire https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/free-agents/all/running-back//

 

I haven’t dug into the draft at all, but my goal would again be to get some juice. Someone who can take a screen and score. Someone who could pick up a blitz would be nice too. Anywhere from round three on. So far, I have liked Jaden Shirden from Monmouth and Will Shipley from Clemson.

 

Wide Receiver

WR	Chase 26	Iosivas 27	Morgan	Jackson
WR	Higgins 24	Irwin 24	Lassiter	UDFA
WR	Jones 27	Dortch 25	Pryor	UDFA

 

Jamarr Chase will return as the top WR in the group. He is up for an extension this offseason and should be the highest-paid WR in the league.

 

Tee Higgins will be the big question this offseason. I don’t think a long-term contract is likely, and I am not sure it’s wise, but the team shouldn’t let him leave without some compensation. I expect the Franchise tag and then either he plays on it for a year, or he’s traded. After seeing him put up big plays, and how badly the defense played without Bates I think the team won’t let him walk. He will be just 25 in a few weeks. I was adamant he was gone and this year, I have changed my mind. His staying gives Yoshi and Jones a chance to show they can be a high-level weapon.

 

Tyler Boyd is probably gone unless he comes very cheap. His numbers have gotten worse every season since 2019 and he is 29. Charlie Jones is the obvious replacement, but he has just four catches.

 

Trenton Irwin is unrestricted for the first time. It would be tough to imagine he didn’t return. His value is highest here where he Is comfortable. At 28 he might take the biggest payday he can get. He has versatility too playing 36% in the slot and 62% outside.

 

Charlie Jones is the odds-on favorite to replace Boyd, but he has just 4 catches for 15 yards. He might have to platoon with a veteran. The league was full of impact rookie wide receivers and neither of ours was that. A sign of our depth at the position.

 

Andrei Iosivas flashed more than Jones, but he only has ten catches. There is a world where he replaces Higgins on the outside and Boyd is back on the inside. I don’t think it’s as likely but it’s possible.

 

The practice squad is loaded with guys that, with some development, you could see as the 5^th-7^th wideout. Shedrick Jackson has great speed but is raw, we all saw it when he lined up in the wrong spot and Burrow had a bit of a meltdown. Kwamie Lassiter and Kendric Pryor were both solid in the 2022 preseason. Lassiter landed on the practice squad; Pryor went to the Jaguars for a season but landed back on our practice squad after he was released this year. Stanley Morgan hasn’t developed as a receiver but is solid on special teams and blocking.  

 

With the youth in the position, I doubt we invest in another draft pick unless both Higgins and Boyd leave. Still, you probably pair Jones and Yoshi with veterans instead of rookies.

 

Some outside Veteran Possibilities: Mike Evans, Van Jefferson, Josh Reynolds, Kendrick Bourne (injured), KJ Osborn

 

Some slot Veteran Possibilities: Noah Brown, Darnell Mooney, Scotty Miller, Greg Dortch, Parris Campbell, Curtis Samuel, Nelson Agholar

 

Of the group, Greg Dortch stands out the most to me as a partner with Jones in the slot. He is playing for a bad team, is still just 25, caught 52 balls in 2022, can return kicks and punts, and shouldn’t be expensive. He, like Antonio Gibson, has the take a 5-yard reception 50 yards skillset. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaWw5c_HwO4

 

I’m sure they will fill out the room with some rookie UDFAs. It’s impossible to guess who but Walters does a fantastic job of getting guys who show well in preseason.

 

Tight Ends

TE

Hudson 24

Sample 24

Draft-Stover (3)

Wilcox 24

Gentry

UDFA-Pline

 

Tanner Hudson is essentially the starter at tight end. He is having a career year at 29 and is likely to return at a team-friendly deal to lead the position next year. This might be his only chance at a big payday but there aren’t a ton of teams in desperate need of tight ends.

 

Drew Sample went from second-round bust to fan favorite this year. He has been used nearly perfectly. Inline blocking, blocking from the running back position, and even a threat to catch a pass with two scores this year. I assume he is back as well and might get an inexpensive long-term deal.

 

Mitchell Wilcox is a nice blend of blocker, pass catcher, and core special teamer, rounding out the tight end room. He should be back as well. I see him listed as an unrestricted free agent, but I think he is restricted because his first season was on the practice squad.

 

Irv Smith was supposed to be a weapon at the tight-end position. He didn’t click with Burrow early and his snaps started to disappear until this past week when he was healthy inactive. His time in Cincinnati is over.

 

Zach Gentry is a solid blocking tight end who spent four years in Pittsburgh before landing on the Bengals practice squad. He is the perfect backup to Drew Sample and hopefully will be back for 2024.

 

At RB the Bengals need/ed more juice and got Chase Brown and should be looking for more. At WR the Bengals need/ed more juice and got Charlie Jones and Yoshi and should be looking for more. TE is the same. They should return Hudson-Sample-Wilcox-Gentry, but that group is missing a standout player. Someone who can take a four-yard check down to the house.

 

Some names in free agency should be interesting: Hunter Henry, Noah Fant, Mike Gesicki, Gerald Everett, Colby Parkinson, and Austin Hooper.

 

Parkinson probably stands out because he’s just 25 and hasn’t gotten the chance to shine in Seattle behind Fant and Will Dissly. He was a noted receiving threat coming out of Stanford but as a reserve has blocked more often. There is an argument to just do what they have done the last two seasons. See who is left after free agency settles and sign them. The room is already solid enough that, that’s not a terrible plan. The tight end position isn’t likely to see a ton of transition as most teams have settled starters. The Patriots, Dolphins, Texans, Seahawks, Chargers, Panthers, Bengals, and Commanders are the only teams who might be looking for a starter. Houston, Los Angeles, and Seattle might all re-sign their free-agent starters and Hayden Hurst might be back in Carolina. https://www.ourlads.com/nfldepthcharts/depthchartpos/TE. You could see an excellent free agent coming for cheap to play with Joe Burrow.

 

The Draft seems more likely, as probable depth on the Bengals roster makes it so they don’t need a player to make an impact immediately. Some names I have liked so far are Cade Stover, McCallan Castles, and Ben Sinnott. As a UDFA I like Mason Pline from Furman. He is a former basketball player who is still developing. He’s 6-7 and had 4 TDs this year. This is his second year playing football after playing basketball for three years at Ferris St, jumping on to the football team there, and then transferring to Furman for a grad year.  

 

Offensive Line

 

LT	Brown 27	Carman 25	Cochran
LG	Volson 26	Ford 24	Draft
C	Karras 25	Hill 25	Gilliam
RG	Cappa 26	Scharping 24	Kirkland
RT	Draft-Latham (1)	Smith 25	UDFA

 

Ted Karras is having a solid year and is signed through next season. He should be back to start at center. He has a 67.5 PFF grade good for 14^th out of 37. It wouldn’t be surprising if he is extended into perpetuity as he fits the team and city so well. He was the Bengals nominee for NFL Man of the Year.

 

Cordell Volson has been much maligned, but he was very good in weeks 12-15. This aligned directly with Browning taking over and us going under center more. He has as much to gain as anyone in the final two weeks when it comes to maintaining his role for 2024. His PFF score is 43 of 78. He is signed for 2024 and 2025. He is probably the biggest question on the line.

 

Alex Cappa is the highest-ranked offensive lineman 24^th of 78. He has two more years on his contract as well Something I didn’t realize is he doesn’t play special teams and is replaced by Cody Ford. This means almost nothing, but I thought it was curious that the rest of the group plays special teams.

 

 Orlando Brown is here for the next three years. He hasn’t been fantastic, but he is the LT for the next few years. He ranks 51^st of 84 tackles on PFF.

 

Jonah Williams will be the big question this offseason. He is 58^th of 84 tackles on PFF and due to enter free agency. He likely will want a chance at a payday as a LT and someone will give it to him. He’s just 26.

 

I read a great note from a Twitter user who talked about how every team has players that the opponent’s coordinator is trying to target, and you should be trying to upgrade that player. You can tell that is Jonah for us and was Volson for much of the season.

 

These five have played almost every snap this year and played okay overall. The backups played a total of fifty snaps this year, 49 of those coming from Cody Ford, and many of those coming from sets where we have an extra lineman.

 

Cody Ford was the 6^th man on the line. He filled in for a couple of dozen snaps at LT for Brown, a few at RG for Cappa, and then as a 6^th lineman in big sets. He also took Cappa’s place on special teams. He turned 27 this week. It’s tough to imagine they don’t bring him back. He has 29 career starts, including one this year.

 

Max Scharping is in a similar boat. He added the ability to play center last offseason and is likely our top backup at all three interior positions. He is a free agent this offseason but set to be back. He’s got 33 career starts.

 

Jackson Carmon, D’Ante Smith, and Trey Hill are all former draft picks that haven’t developed. All have one more year left on their contracts. All are replaceable. Smith has just 56 snaps in three seasons. Carman has 6 starts and 466 starts, mostly in his rookie year. Trey Hill has 218 snaps and three starts.

 

The team has three interesting developmental players as well, all of whom should be back for camp.

 

Jaxson Kirkland is a giant (6-7 328) who started 49 games at every position but center. He might be a diamond in the rough at RG as he gets to settle at one position.

 

Nate Gilliam is a developmental prospect on the interior. Has spent time on the practice squads of Pittsburgh the Chargers and now two years in Cincinnati.

 

Devin Cochran is on injured reserve but was on the practice squad for 2022. Captain in his only year at GA Tech.

 

Free Agency seems like a quicker route to improvement, but we have already spent there, and the class isn’t great.

 

At Center: Cushenberry-Broncos, Williams-Dolphins, James-Raiders, Biadasz-Cowboys, Brown-Seahawks, McGovern-Jets, Jensen-Bucs, Shelton-Rams, Mustipher-Ravens

 

At Guard: Cleveland-Jaguars, Jackson-Lions, Simpson-Ravens, Lewis-Seahawks, Stinnie-Bucs, Peat-Saints, Dotson-Rams, Haynes-Seahawks, Hunt-Dolphins, Glasgow-Lions, Zeitler-Ravens, Runyan-Packers

 

At Tackle: Onewenu-Patriots, Jackson-Dolphins, Nijman-Packers, Eluemunor-Raiders, Fant-Texans, Becton-Jets, Jones-Texans, Hubbard-Titans

Before Volson's improvement, I had Lloyd Cushenberry from the Broncos as a primary target. He’s just 26 and was Burrows' center in college. I had forecasted the play center and then we moved Karras to LG.

 

The Draft will be especially deep at tackle, and we should be able to find a starter at RT in the teens where we will draft. I’d also like to add a young player to the interior.

 

Three standouts so far: Taliese Fuaga-Oregon St, JC Latham-Alabama, and Amarius Mims-Georgia.

 

On the interior, I don’t have anyone, but I think you are looking for someone who can play LG and C and has had lots of snaps. Then you’d add in a UDFA to fill out the roster for camp.

[Jamie_B]

Good breakdown, would you mind at all maybe changing the color of the text of the guys that will be free agents? Might make it easier to quickly identify them and talk about needs going into the offseason.

[MichaelWeston]

6 minutes ago, Jamie_B said:

Good breakdown, would you mind at all maybe changing the color of the text of the guys that will be free agents? Might make it easier to quickly identify them and talk about needs going into the offseason.

 

Do you mean within texts or tables....both shouldn't be an issue. 

 

Here is the offensive roster currently. 

Blue=Unrestricted

Green=Restricted or Exclusive

 

							IR	PS
QB	Browning 24	McCarron 24			2		Burrow 29	Plitt
RB	Mixon 25	Brown 27	Williams 24	Evans 25	4
WR	Chase 26	Iosivas 27			2			Felton
WR	Higgins 24	Irwin 24			2			Morgan 24
WR	Boyd 24	Jones 27			2			Lassiter 25
TE	Sample 24	Hudson 24	Wilcox 24	Smith 24	4			Pryor
LT	Brown 27	Carman 25			2		Cochran 24	Jackson 26
LG	Volson 26	Ford 24			2			Gentry
C	Karras 25	Hill 25			2			Gilliam 25
RG	Cappa 26	Scharping 24			2		Kirkland 26
RT	Williams 24	Smith 25			2

[Jamie_B]

I just meant to highlight the text of each FA and change its color, but that works too.

 

I do know how you like your tables.

[Jamie_B]

Tee gets tagged

Browning is your backup, I had hopes that we could trade him in the offseason, I'm less hopeful about that now.

Boyd will likely get let go

Irwin 50/50 he stays on a team-friendly deal or he goes. I think he's done enough to show he could be a #3 for a lot of teams, but I don't think we value him as a #3.

I'd like to resign Sample to a blocking TE type of contract.

I'd also like to keep Hudson if possible.

 

Let Williams go and target a RT in the draft. Maybe a WR too, but not a 1st round WR.

[Jungletiger]

As much as people want to get something for Tee, that won't happen.  They will keep him as long as they can, and when they can not they will let him go to choose his own fate in FA instead of being forced to go where a trade dictates,  In a way that is the reward for service, the freedom to do what you want after.  Whether this is good or bad, it's how it is on this team.

[sparky151]

IMO this offseason should be mostly about the offense. I doubt we lose any coordinator to another team. Maybe Pitcher or Walters get poached. We should be looking for an upgrade from Pollack. 

 

In terms of players, we still need to fix the play of the O-line. We should let Jonah Williams go to another team. None of our backups are very good and ready to step up so we're starting from scratch there. Ford and Scharping are ok as stop-gaps but not someone we'd feel good about starting a playoff game. Boyd will get a decent offer somewhere. We should at least tag Tee and try to extend him. The tag number is 21 mil but his market value is probably less than that. Spotrac has it at about 16 mil per year. We could easily afford 4/80 for him in addition to extending Chase. Mixon isn't worth his salary and should be replaced by a rookie. We could also sign a cheaper vet RB. At TE we should try to bring back Hudson but also use a midround pick at the position so we aren't starting from scratch every offseason. 

[Le Tigre]

16 minutes ago, Jamie_B said:

Boyd will likely get let go

Why? 
 

(I expect “cost too much” and/or “they drafted Jones to replace him”)

[Jungletiger]

1 minute ago, Le Tigre said:

Why? 
 

(I expect “cost too much” and/or “they drafted Jones to replace him”)

 

With Joe's contract and JC's contract coming, and the fact that they will keep trying to re-sign Tee until they can't.  The team is going to trim as much as they think they can, especially if they think they have cheaper players to replace their more expensive starters.

[Le Tigre]

1 minute ago, Jungletiger said:

 

With Joe's contract and JC's contract coming, and the fact that they will keep trying to re-sign Tee until they can't.  The team is going to trim as much as they think they can, especially if they think they have cheaper players to replace their more expensive starters.

That’s all well and good, but with a “Pass First” offense, they need all the front-line weapons they can field. 
 

Chuck Fizzle has shown nothing. So they will go from front-line to hole? 

[sparky151]

They'll most likely try to sign Irwin back. He shouldn't be too expensive. Spotrac has Boyd's market value at 8.7 mil annually on a 3 year deal.

 

Bengals won't want to pay that much for a 30 year old WR3. 

 

 

[Le Tigre]

He won’t be 30 until mid November 2024

[Jamie_B]

38 minutes ago, Le Tigre said:

Why? 
 

(I expect “cost too much” and/or “they drafted Jones to replace him”)

 

To younger and cheaper. I'm not sure Jones is a good replacement, seems like he's more a replacement for Trent Taylor

[MichaelWeston]

Boyd just hasn't been all that great nor a focal point of the offense. I think he will probably go somewhere that will both pay him and throw it to him (And I expect them to regret that contract after next year). 

[MichaelWeston]

This is what I landed on for the offense

 

QB	Burrow 29	Browning 24	McCarron 24	UDFA-Tagovailoa				4
RB	Brown 27	Mixon 25	Williams 24	Draft-Shirden (4)	McBride	Felton		6
WR	Chase 26	Iosivas 27	Morgan	Jackson				4
WR	Higgins 24	Irwin 24	Lassiter	UDFA				4
WR	Jones 27	Dortch 25	Pryor	UDFA				4
TE	Hudson 24	Sample 24	Draft-Stover (3)	Wilcox 24	Gentry	UDFA-Pline		6
LT	Brown 27	Carman 25	Cochran					3
LG	Volson 26	Ford 24	Draft					3
C	Karras 25	Hill 25	Gilliam					3
RG	Cappa 26	Scharping 24	Kirkland					3
RT	Draft-Latham (1)	Smith 25	UDFA					3

[Le Tigre]

2 hours ago, Jamie_B said:

 

To younger and cheaper. I'm not sure Jones is a good replacement, seems like he's more a replacement for Trent Taylor

OK. Then who replaces Boyd—younger/cheaper/just as good? 
 

(looks around…nope)

[Jamie_B]

3 minutes ago, Le Tigre said:

OK. Then who replaces Boyd—younger/cheaper/just as good? 
 

(looks around…nope)

 

 

I suspect they look to the draft 

 

I hope it's not in the first and they get a guy in the 2nd.

 

Not an Ohio State "fan" (I guess casually) but Emeka Egbuka is the perfect slot WR and this mock has us taking him in the 2nd.

 

I'd prefer we get Fauaga over Mims but the mock here has us missing out by one pick (thus one of my reasons if we can't get into the playoffs to lose out, it reminds me of when we missed on Frank Ragow to take Billy Price, though I'm not sure Mims is as bad as Price)

 

https://www.si.com/nfl/draft/news/2024-nfl-mock-draft-caleb-williams-chicago-bears-drake-maye-washington-commanders-jayden-daniels-new-england-patriots

 

[I_C_Deadpeople]

4 hours ago, Jamie_B said:

Tee gets tagged

Browning is your backup, I had hopes that we could trade him in the offseason, I'm less hopeful about that now.

Boyd will likely get let go

Irwin 50/50 he stays on a team-friendly deal or he goes. I think he's done enough to show he could be a #3 for a lot of teams, but I don't think we value him as a #3.

I'd like to resign Sample to a blocking TE type of contract.

I'd also like to keep Hudson if possible.

 

Let Williams go and target a RT in the draft. Maybe a WR too, but not a 1st round WR.

The problem with “letting Williams go” is FA is before the draft and if we have no RT we are at the mercy of the draft, which is not good. I suspect Williams will at least want to test FA but I also suspect we will have an offer on the table for him. He is at least “OK” and we simply can’t rely on the whim of the draft to fill that spot. 
 

He is also be our backup LT so a valuable player at this point. I think the Reader injury opens up the opportunity to re-sign him and I don’t mind if we do AND still target 1 guys in the draft. You literally cannot have enough OL. 

[I_C_Deadpeople]

I should add, the Reader injury also opens the door to re-sign Tee and then Tag Jonah which would give us time to find a long term RT solution via the draft

[Jamie_B]

23 minutes ago, I_C_Deadpeople said:

The problem with “letting Williams go” is FA is before the draft and if we have no RT we are at the mercy of the draft, which is not good. I suspect Williams will at least want to test FA but I also suspect we will have an offer on the table for him. He is at least “OK” and we simply can’t rely on the whim of the draft to fill that spot. 
 

He is also be our backup LT so a valuable player at this point. I think the Reader injury opens up the opportunity to re-sign him and I don’t mind if we do AND still target 1 guys in the draft. You literally cannot have enough OL. 

 

I get the mercy of the draft. I also hope we move on. The guy is not made for AFCN football.

[claptonrocks]

4 hours ago, Le Tigre said:

Why? 
 

(I expect “cost too much” and/or “they drafted Jones to replace him”)

Bring back Boyd another year at club friendly contract

His numbers decline some due to other weapons but his blocking is great.

Jones is such an unknown..

[sparky151]

23 minutes ago, I_C_Deadpeople said:

The problem with “letting Williams go” is FA is before the draft and if we have no RT we are at the mercy of the draft, which is not good. I suspect Williams will at least want to test FA but I also suspect we will have an offer on the table for him. He is at least “OK” and we simply can’t rely on the whim of the draft to fill that spot. 
 

He is also be our backup LT so a valuable player at this point. I think the Reader injury opens up the opportunity to re-sign him and I don’t mind if we do AND still target 1 guys in the draft. You literally cannot have enough OL. 

 

The problem with your argument is that Williams isn't good. He'll find a starting LT job somewhere but the Bengals shouldn't even consider paying him 15+ mil per year. At this point I don't expect Carman or Smith to step up so we'll need to look to the draft or free agency for Jonah's replacement. The odds are that a first round tackle will become a better RT than Jonah. This class is deep at OT so I wouldn't be surprised if there were decent options in round 2 as well. We could hedge some risk by signing a stopgap veteran like Eluemunor or similar. 

[sparky151]

1 minute ago, claptonrocks said:

Bring back Boyd another year at club friendly contract

His numbers decline some due to other weapons but his blocking is great.

Jones is such an unknown..

 

Replacing Boyd is much easier than replacing Williams. Ideally, Jones steps up but a combo of Jones/Irwin/Iosivas plus maybe a rookie should be able to replace the catches and yards. 

[MichaelWeston]

I'd let Boyd walk. Even if Jones isn't the definitive answer, he might be and you can grab a guy like Dortch or Mooney to hedge. You don't need to draft a slot receiver in the first two rounds and maybe not even the first two days. Around 20 starting WRs were drafted last draft. 

[claptonrocks]

19 minutes ago, MichaelWeston said:

I'd let Boyd walk. Even if Jones isn't the definitive answer, he might be and you can grab a guy like Dortch or Mooney to hedge. You don't need to draft a slot receiver in the first two rounds and maybe not even the first two days. Around 20 starting WRs were drafted last draft. 

I like Boyd but you may be right.

Lots of receivers out there and

saves more cap space.