Bengals Free Agency 2025

[|Montana Bengal|]

1 hour ago, Jamie_B said:

Part of me is irritated, part of me realizes this is a weak FA class so waiting on the prices to come down relative to the talent is fine.

 

But that doesn't mean they should be waiting on Tee, Jamar, and Trey 

Especially Tee!

[sparky151]

4 hours ago, I_C_Deadpeople said:

"Just need a couple of them".....sounds so easy yet year after year this is a task this team cannot complete.

 

Yeah, it's fine to have alternatives but the team should know the asking price for the starting caliber players they are interested in. If they value say Risner at 5 mil and he's asking for 7, they should pay him 7. It's less than Cappa made and he's a substantial upgrade over what we have now. Likewise if Jenkins wants 14 and they want him because he's a better run blocker than Risner, then pay up. It's much better to get a good player, even if you have to pay a mil or more than you'd like, than to miss out at the position and have to draft starters. The team can easily create cap space by restructuring Burrow or signing properly structured extensions with Tee, Ja'Marr, and Trey.

 

2 hours ago, Griever said:

 

We're ok at DB going into the draft. But we still have quite a few needs elsewhere. RB2, OT3, LG1, RG1 for the offense. LDE1, DT1, and LB2 on defense. Let's get the guard spots filled soon, ideally a speed rusher or starting LB, and a swing tackle. We can find a backup RB and some pass rushers in the draft. It's much better to start rookies on the Dline than the Oline. Ideally we can find a good FS in the draft too. 

[I_C_Deadpeople]

1 hour ago, sparky151 said:

 

Yeah, it's fine to have alternatives but the team should know the asking price for the starting caliber players they are interested in. If they value say Risner at 5 mil and he's asking for 7, they should pay him 7. It's less than Cappa made and he's a substantial upgrade over what we have now. Likewise if Jenkins wants 14 and they want him because he's a better run blocker than Risner, then pay up. It's much better to get a good player, even if you have to pay a mil or more than you'd like, than to miss out at the position and have to draft starters. The team can easily create cap space by restructuring Burrow or signing properly structured extensions with Tee, Ja'Marr, and Trey.

 

 

We're ok at DB going into the draft. But we still have quite a few needs elsewhere. RB2, OT3, LG1, RG1 for the offense. LDE1, DT1, and LB2 on defense. Let's get the guard spots filled soon, ideally a speed rusher or starting LB, and a swing tackle. We can find a backup RB and some pass rushers in the draft. It's much better to start rookies on the Dline than the Oline. Ideally we can find a good FS in the draft too. 

Plus we only have 6 draft picks so it not like we can load up at that point either (and it is a crap shoot as well)

[sparky151]

Yeah, any rookie picked after round 2 is unlikely to start right away. And the Bengals don't have a good draft history. So there's that.

 

At this point in free agency, there are lots of inexpensive players left but not many difference makers. The Bengals guards were so bad last year that there are upgrade options. Bengals have around 25 mil in cap space to spend, though they can easily create more. Adding, say Risner, Hernandez, Calais Campbell, and Kyzir White should be affordable and doable. Maybe throw in JK Dobbins or Jed Wills too. Cutting Moss would pay for Dobbins. Cutting Volson would mostly pay for Risner or Hernandez. Cutting Pratt would pay for White. It's not really that hard. The players want clarity as much as the fans and the best deal they can get. If they were in demand, they'd already have been signed.

 

[LostInDaJungle]

4 hours ago, Jamie_B said:

Part of me is irritated, part of me realizes this is a weak FA class so waiting on the prices to come down relative to the talent is fine.

 

But that doesn't mean they should be waiting on Tee, Jamar, and Trey 

The price doesn't go down, the quality does. It allows you to say "We got the best guy available on day 17"...

It's like deciding Steak is too expensive so you wait for one to go slightly brown and show up on manager's special. Maybe you even say, "Ha, just yesterday this was a $15 steak!" But you only saved two bucks, and there's a reason people don't prefer expired steak.
 

[Le Tigre]

1 hour ago, sparky151 said:

Cutting Moss

The longer this goes on, the less I believe Moss is going anywhere. 
 

He was brought in for a reason a year ago—and given an extended length contract. He was injured early on. Something tells me they want to see him after a year in the system. 
 

Perine wasn’t purchased to replace him. 

[IKOTA]

11 minutes ago, Le Tigre said:

The longer this goes on, the less I believe Moss is going anywhere. 
 

He was brought in for a reason a year ago—and given an extended length contract. He was injured early on. Something tells me they want to see him after a year in the system. 
 

Perine wasn’t purchased to replace him. 

They can’t cut him while he’s injured (I believe), so they’re probably waiting for certain things to happen before they cut him.
 

Perine was brought in to pair with Chase Brown and I’m sure they’ll draft a RB at some point, but Moss is absolutely out….as soon as he’s “healthy”. 

[sparky151]

11 minutes ago, Le Tigre said:

The longer this goes on, the less I believe Moss is going anywhere. 
 

He was brought in for a reason a year ago—and given an extended length contract. He was injured early on. Something tells me they want to see him after a year in the system. 
 

Perine wasn’t purchased to replace him. 

 

Then they are compounding error. Moss has a neck injury. That's not a good one for an RB to have. We can replace him easily enough on day 3 of the draft or in free agency. No reason to have him hanging around, let someone else give him a chance or let him get on with his life's work.

[sparky151]

1 minute ago, IKOTA said:

They can’t cut him while he’s injured (I believe), so they’re probably waiting for certain things to happen before they cut him.
 

Perine was brought in to pair with Chase Brown and I’m sure they’ll draft a RB at some point, but Moss is absolutely out….as soon as he’s “healthy”. 

 

Of course they can cut him now without owing him any more money. He doesn't need to pass a physical. See Minshew, who failed a physical with the Raiders last week and signed with the Chiefs this week.

 

[IKOTA]

24 minutes ago, sparky151 said:

 

Of course they can cut him now without owing him any more money. He doesn't need to pass a physical. See Minshew, who failed a physical with the Raiders last week and signed with the Chiefs this week.

 

 

Ok! Thanks for the clarification. 

[|BlackJesus|]

[Le Tigre]

40 minutes ago, sparky151 said:

 

Then they are compounding error. Moss has a neck injury. That's not a good one for an RB to have. We can replace him easily enough on day 3 of the draft or in free agency. No reason to have him hanging around, let someone else give him a chance or let him get on with his life's work.

Dunno. See how it goes I guess. 

[|BlackJesus|]

[|BlackJesus|]

[|BlackJesus|]

[Inigo Montoya]

2 hours ago, Le Tigre said:

The longer this goes on, the less I believe Moss is going anywhere. 
 

He was brought in for a reason a year ago—and given an extended length contract. He was injured early on. Something tells me they want to see him after a year in the system. 
 

Perine wasn’t purchased to replace him. 

I don’t believe Moss is going to be around by Week One.  The injury situation and the fact that Brown had passed him on the depth chart are the main reasons.  Perrine isn’t necessarily taking his job but a likely draft pick probably will.  It’s just a matter of time.

[alleycat]

There is zero doubt that the Bengals should do everything in their power to sign the likes of Scherff and Teven Jenkins right now. Both of them. There's no way the $5-10M per year (each) they are going to get isn't worth spending as the BARE MINIMUM insurance needed to protect The Franchise. It also offers them value at a position that is notoriously hard to fill with a Rookie (as their own sample set has shown; just as their own sample set has shown that they get much better results when they go out of house to sign FA for the O-Line (OBJ, Karras, Kappa). Maybe the new O-Line coach will be able to do a much better job than the woeful excuse for an Oline coach we had, but that betting an unproven on an unproven. Unproved squared. Not a good idea. 

 

Lastly, if you simply go out and sign two guys like that (like right fucking now), you completely open up the draft, and frankly make everyone happy. NOW we can fill those holes on a woeful defense that this weak FA class made difficult to fill in any case. Hell, spend those first two picks on two playmakers at DE, DT, LB, and S. Maybe even the top 3...or 4. Hope a great guard that's a great value falls and you take him for a redshirt year and have him ready next year. But use the draft to focus on the Defense for the first several picks, and maybe developmental high ceiling guys on offense for the last ones. 

 

There's no way this route wouldn't leave them with enough cap space to go ahead and do the deals with Tee and Chase and Trey. Maybe they'll have to get creative, but it's the one path where playing it tight in FA -- but the RIGHT WAY -- could really pay off. 

 

But they are really running out of time, because they are running out of options. 

 

And yeah, every training camp someone surprising seems to get cut loose and we are often able to pounce, but that's luck, and, even though it appears that hoping for luck is one of the primary strategies of this front office, recent history has shown us that doesn't quite cut it. And it certainly doesn't exploit the once-in-a-generation we have with Joe Burrow as our QB. 

[|BlackJesus|]

Watching Burrow navigate collapsing pockets are works of art and a master class on how to play QB ... But just imagine what he would do if he had actual Guards!

 

 

He might throw for 7,000 yards! 😳 

[WRAPradio]

6 hours ago, alleycat said:

There is zero doubt that the Bengals should do everything in their power to sign the likes of Scherff and Teven Jenkins right now. Both of them. There's no way the $5-10M per year (each) they are going to get isn't worth spending as the BARE MINIMUM insurance needed to protect The Franchise. It also offers them value at a position that is notoriously hard to fill with a Rookie (as their own sample set has shown; just as their own sample set has shown that they get much better results when they go out of house to sign FA for the O-Line (OBJ, Karras, Kappa). Maybe the new O-Line coach will be able to do a much better job than the woeful excuse for an Oline coach we had, but that betting an unproven on an unproven. Unproved squared. Not a good idea. 

 

Lastly, if you simply go out and sign two guys like that (like right fucking now), you completely open up the draft, and frankly make everyone happy. NOW we can fill those holes on a woeful defense that this weak FA class made difficult to fill in any case. Hell, spend those first two picks on two playmakers at DE, DT, LB, and S. Maybe even the top 3...or 4. Hope a great guard that's a great value falls and you take him for a redshirt year and have him ready next year. But use the draft to focus on the Defense for the first several picks, and maybe developmental high ceiling guys on offense for the last ones. 

 

There's no way this route wouldn't leave them with enough cap space to go ahead and do the deals with Tee and Chase and Trey. Maybe they'll have to get creative, but it's the one path where playing it tight in FA -- but the RIGHT WAY -- could really pay off. 

 

But they are really running out of time, because they are running out of options. 

 

And yeah, every training camp someone surprising seems to get cut loose and we are often able to pounce, but that's luck, and, even though it appears that hoping for luck is one of the primary strategies of this front office, recent history has shown us that doesn't quite cut it. And it certainly doesn't exploit the once-in-a-generation we have with Joe Burrow as our QB. 

 

This makes too much sense. Why not try to fill our needs in the draft with unproven rookies?

[|High School Harry|]

The latest? Defensive lineman Jay Tufele signed with the New York Jets, finding his way to a new AFC team despite the Bengals having an obvious need there.

[|High School Harry|]

Is Trent Brown still on our roster?  Lost track.

If he is, he shouldn't be

[BBR]

20 minutes ago, High School Harry said:

Is Trent Brown still on our roster?  Lost track.

If he is, he shouldn't be

 

He is not.  At least not right now.  I suppose he could be added but probably not for what they paid him last year.

[I_C_Deadpeople]

2 hours ago, WRAPradio said:

 

This makes too much sense. Why not try to fill our needs in the draft with unproven rookies?

It is really hard to negotiate more than one contrcat at a time don't ya know! Remember Katie said how 'hard it is to run an NFL football team'.  

 

We barely draft elite players and then, man, you have to re-sign them! This is a lot of work. I know it looks like all the other teams can do this quickly but it is all smoke and mirrors. 

[MichaelWeston]

13 hours ago, sparky151 said:

 

Of course they can cut him now without owing him any more money. He doesn't need to pass a physical. See Minshew, who failed a physical with the Raiders last week and signed with the Chiefs this week.

 

I believe you have to buy him out then. 

[Inigo Montoya]

1 hour ago, MichaelWeston said:

I believe you have to buy him out then. 

Yes there’s usually an injury settlement in these situations.  In Minshew’s case, he still had guaranteed money ($3.2 million) from his contract with the Raiders that was subject to offset with any new deal he signed.  So basically he signed for the vet minimum with the Chiefs ($1.2 million) and will collect the difference from the Raiders ($2 million).