Jamie_B Posted February 24 Report Posted February 24 8 minutes ago, MichaelWeston said: Most guards get FA deals. Not at that age. 1 Quote
Jamie_B Posted February 24 Report Posted February 24 Sounds like it's a weak WR, G, and LB draft. Quote
MichaelWeston Posted February 24 Author Report Posted February 24 12 minutes ago, Jamie_B said: Not at that age. Sorry I meant most starting guards, at least the top ones, sign FA deals. And aren't drafted. 1 Quote
MichaelWeston Posted March 4 Author Report Posted March 4 Finished up my Mock offseason. It's a doozy. I feel the least strongly about LB and S. I want a veteran at every position. This is the one place where I can see us legitimately being called cheap. You only pay the top 51 players in your cap and there are offsets for veterans. We still pay the player the amount, but they don’t count that amount against the cap. https://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com/2023/6/3/23747605/explaining-how-the-nfl-works-part-9-veteran-salary-benefit-contracts-four-year-player-qualifying I have done absolutely nothing to look at the draft other than to note that it’s a deep RB-TE and DT draft and throw that logic into my outlook. Quarterback Need: 1 veteran and 1 UDFA for a camp arm/upside. Logan Woodside might be back. Rocky Lombardi is in the UFL after being in camp here last year. My choice: Taylor recruited Desmond Ridder-Ridder at UC when Taylor was the UC OC. He’s bounced around the league but the Raiders have indicated they won’t be tendering him making him a UFA. He’s just 26. He has 18 starts over his pro career so he may want to go somewhere with a less stable starter/backup situation. I believe that Cincinnati is ideal because he’s close to home in Louisville, has familiarity with the city, will get great coaching, and be in a great QB room, it’s a near-perfect one-year career reset situation. The Situation: For Cincinnati, you get a vet in camp for insurance but also Browning likely wants to try to start somewhere and his clock is ticking. He will be 29 in April and 30 in his RFA year. The RFA tenders this year were (First-round tender: $7,458,000; Second-round tender: $5,346,000; Right of first refusal tender: $3,263,000). I could see us going to around that 2nd round level all but eliminating anyone signs him or just letting him test the market as a sign of goodwill. If he finds a place to compete for a starting role he moves on, if he doesn’t he stays. Several teams a year seem to want a guy like Browning to pair with a Rookie or another veteran in a training camp battle. He’s probably in that 28-35 best QBs in the NFL range…think Minshew and Winston. https://www.nfl.com/prospects/desmond-ridder/32005249-4408-0474-6bc7-b6ac95881989 QB Burrow 29 Browning 26 Ridder 26 UDFA Running Back Need: Clarity around the depth. Williams, Evans, Herbert, and Moss filled out the roster last year. All have unknown futures at the position. Releasing Moss saves 3.3M. Herbert was traded for a 7th-rounder. It’s reportedly an exceptionally deep draft with 30-40 draftable RBs. The Bengals need someone who can start if Brown should be out. This class is weak in those types of guys. Moss (17 starts, 2300+ career yards) and Herbert (13 starts, 1900+ yards) are two of the guys who fit the backup role the best. External free agents who fit the mold are Cam Akers (17 starts, 2000+ yards), Raheem Mostert (39 starts 3700+ yards), Jeff Wilson (16 starts 2300+ yards), and Alexander Mattison (26 starts, 2700+ yards). JK Dobbins and Javonte Williams are two guys who, while injury-prone, could also be added to the list if they don’t return to start at their 2024 homes or find a bigger role elsewhere. Without an obvious external upgrade, despite the 3.3M, I’d bring back Moss for at least camp. He wasn’t having a great year before his neck injury but he averaged 4.3, 4.9, and 4.2 in 3 of his 4 seasons prior. I’d bring Herbert back as well. Before last year he averaged 4.6, 5.7, and 4.2 yards per carry. Both are 27. My Choice: Ameer Abdullah would be my replacement for Trevyon Williams. At 32 he’s nearing the end of an interesting career; I am sure he’d love to find a contender to go out on. He’s coming off a year where he received his most starts (3), ran for the most yards (311-4.7 avg-2tds) since 2017, and had the most productive pass-catching year of his career (40-261-6.5-3). This while he still had 4 tackles (he had 12 in 2023) on 192 snaps on special teams. For comparison, T-Will had 2 tackles on 253 snaps. Abdullah also returned punts and kicks in 2024. Abdullah is also a Nebraska alum, something that I am sure isn’t lost on Taylor. Our new OL assistant coached Abdullah in Detroit in 2017. He made 1 year 1.85M last season. On top of Abdullah, I’d add a couple of rookies, preferably post-draft because of the depth at the position but possibly with a 4-6th pick. Then I’d add them to Milton and Brightwell. Brightwell has some upside as a special teamer with 8 tackles as a rookie on 195 snaps. Historically the team has liked to draft a RB every two years. It wouldn’t be a surprise if they target one in the draft and just re-sign T-Will. RB Brown 27 Moss 26 Herbert 25 Abdullah 26 Milton 26 Brightwell UDFA UDFA Wide Receiver Need: WR 2 and depth at WR. Higgins Higgins Higgins. I have vacillated back and forth and have concluded that you tag him and then pay him. I get the logic in not doing it. He’s oft-injured, you have a top 5 QB who should be able to win without 2 stud WRs, and you already have a stud WR. The other argument is clear. Higgins is a stud WR on a team where we have few stars. We have a history of giving up stars and regretting it (Whitworth, Bates, Reader). We don’t have a ton of other positions to pay. I pay him whatever he wants and bring him back. If Chase gets injured you are still fine and can win a Super Bowl. That’s important. My Choices: Noah Brown: Brown is on a 1-year 1.2M deal in Washington, he caught 35-453-12.9-1 on that deal. He plays mostly outside with great size (6’2 225). In 2023 he went for 8-172 on us. He’s 29. He started 9 games last year so he might have a higher ceiling in a bad WR draft and free agency. Simi Fehoko: Each year I have a guy or 2 that I want despite a potential lack of fit. Evan Brown and Morgan Fox were 2 guys I just wanted on the roster and we could figure it out later. Fehoko is that guy for me this year. He’s just 25, great size (6’4 222). He has just 10 career catches for 106 yards. He saw his most snaps last year with 244 on offense. He has played some special teams, (81 snaps in 2024). I’d pay a bit just to get him on the roster. https://www.nfl.com/prospects/simi-fehoko/32004645-4855-6867-28d1-9272a231323b On top of these two, you are returning Burton-Jones-Isaiah Williams-Burgess-Pryor and the newly added Tinsley. Burton is on a short leash. Add a UDFA as we always do at the position. Fehoko is a luxury signing and I get not bringing him in but I’d love to just see what he can do and buy low on a guy I think could end up being very good. WR Chase 26 Brown 26 Burton 28 Tinsley WR Higgins 25 Fehoko 27 Pryor Burgess WR Iosivas 27 Williams 27 Jones 27 UDFA Tight End Need: Stability. The team has had success at TE for most of the Taylor tenure but very few guys have had great back-to-back seasons. CJ and Hurst both took their Bengals seasons to nice paydays. Gesicki could be the next but there is talk that he might be the first of the big 4 back. Still, the team would rather have a multi-faceted TE who doesn’t tip his role. Gesicki is much more of a pass catcher than a blocker and played in the slot 68% of the time last year. Gesicki would be brought back under my plan and then you are looking at finding a multifaceted guy. You essentially would have two outside TEs in Gesicki and McClachlan and two inline TEs in Sample and Cam Grandy. Grandy probably is the best guy on the roster at doing both. https://www.nfl.com/prospects/tanner-mclachlan/32004d43-4c01-0607-d7e7-bb284fe4b839 The TE market has some interesting guys: Tyler Conklin, Juwan Johnson, Austin Hooper, Moe-Alie Cox, Hunter Long, and Tommy Tremble. But who is the guy who can give you what All gave you last year? Johnson is more like Gesicki. Conklin can do both but hasn’t blocked well. Hooper and Alie-Cox are both good blockers but came in known for their pass-catching. Long and Tremble have unrealized potential. This is a position I’d re-sign Gesicki and then partner him with Sample, Grandy, and McClachlan and hope that we can find a day 2 or 3 multi-faceted TE in what is known as a very deep draft Tanner Hudson is a bit of a predicament here. He would likely return on a league-minimum deal, he caught 19 balls and played 231 snaps on special teams. It seems like a no-brainer to bring him back. But I think we should move on at the same time. TE Gesicki 25 Sample 27 Draft Pick Grandy 26 McClachlan 28 Hudson 25 UDFA All 28 Offensive Line Needs: 2 New starting Guards, a Swing tackle, and hope. Brown, Karras, and Mims are back as starters. Lee is back as an interior depth piece that may or may not be able to play G but looked good at C in the preseason. They want Cody Ford back and I expect that. He’s just 28 and played every position but C last year for them. Kirkland is an ERFA that I think could start at some point and should be back. Then we have Coker, Steuber, Cochran, and Manning as younger vets and future guys. I thought Cochran looked good last year in moments. Manning’s profile is interesting as an upside G at RG. My Choices: LG Evan Brown is a guy I have wanted for a while. He might not be the flashiest name here but that might help us get him at a lower rate allowing us to spend elsewhere. While he played LG in 24, he’s started at both C and RG and might be a solid alternative at C should Karras walk after this year and Matt Lee not be ready. He’s 28 with 57 career starts. Last year he played on a 1 year 2.35M deal RG Brandon Scherff is a guy everyone has wanted for a while. He’s bound to want to close out what could be a hall-of-fame career with a winner. He’s got 140 career starts…all at RG. His last contract was 3 years 49.5M. Would 1-2 years around 10M a piece do it? He will be 33 next season. Tackle Kendall Lamm is also 33. He played for Peters in 2020. Last year he started 7 games in Miami. He’s got 44 over his career. He played on a 1 year 2.52M deal last year. He has over 1000 snaps at LT and 1700 at RT. Other options: LG: Jenkins, Risner, Tomlinson, Mekari, Jones (Mia), Bredeson RG: Daniels, Fries, Zietler, Becton, Colon, Pryor, Hernandez, Van Roten, Corbett, Radunz Tackle: Lucas, Moses, Hudson Last year there seemed to be momentum around all the names we signed. This year I keep hearing Mekari. He is probably a better option than Brown. Pryor and Hernandez are interesting because they are probably cheaper. In this scenario, Cappa would be gone and Scherff would start at RG. Ford-Volson and Kirkland would all be seen as potential next men up at that RG spot. Volson played predominately RT in college. Kirkland started his first 25 games at RG, then 18 at LT and 9 at LG. LT Brown 27 Lamm 26 Cochran 26 LG Brown 28 Kirkland 25 C Karras 26 Lee 28 UDFA RG Scherff 26 Volson 26 Steuber 26 Manning RT Mims 29 Ford 25 Coker Special Teams Needs: Stability at Kicker Everyone is back but York is still up in the air. I believe he is an ERFA and I’d bring him back. York was a former 4th rounder. He went 24-42 as a Rookie and was dropped. Last year he went 9 for 11 for us. McPherson was 16 of 22 last year. After a very solid first 3 seasons. Having York in camp gives us insurance if McPherson is still struggling. K McPherson 28 York 25 P Rehkow 27 LS Adomitis 26 Defensive Tackle Need: New DT or 2 to pair with last year's two picks. Both showed well but weren’t obvious starters. I’d bring Hill back. He’s effective and a good part of the locker room. At 30 it shouldn’t cost a ton. Then, like TE, I’d take advantage of a deep draft and snag a nice 3T in one of the first 2 days. I’d bring Tufele back on a 1 year Min. My Choice: TJ Slaton of the Packers played for our DL coach for 3 seasons. He’s just 27 and 6’5 330. PFF never scored him well but ESPN has him as the #1 run-stop Win rate of 46%. He’s had at least 30 tackles each of the last 3 years starting all 17 games in 23 and 24. Other options: Poona Ford, Calais Campbell, Milton Williams, Jarran Reed, Sebastian Joseph-Day, Mario Edwards, Adam Butler, Wharton, Kinlaw, Jenkins. Defensive End Need-More juice. Whether or not they can pay Hendrickson they need more pass rush juice. Murphy has upside still, Ced Johnson showed well in late snaps. Isaiah Thomas and Raymond Johnson are good camp guys. Outside of Hendrickson, there are big questions about whether they bring Ossai and/or Sample back. Ossai played pretty well at the end of the year. I think they’d like him back but the market could outprice them. Sample can probably be back on the minimum coming off an injury. My choices Deitrich Wise is 31, he’s coming off a year where he was coached by our DL coach and was a captain. He has 34 career sacks including 5 last year and 17 over the last 3 seasons. He’s got to want to be off that Patriots team and on to a winner to close out his career. Adding a captain is always smart. At 280 he can be an inside outside guy. Malcolm Koonce is coming off a torn ACL, after 2023 that saw him with 8sacks, 3 forced fumbles, and 17hurries. He’s undersized for what we like at 6’2 250 but I think having some diversity it types of players will be what Golden wants. The red flag is that his 3rd year was the only impact year he had, and the knee injury took him out of building off that. I think he’s a buy-low candidate with potential major upside. Other Options: Khalil Mack, Derek Barnett, Josh Sweat, Chase Young, Preston Smith, Golston, Fowler, Taylor, Lawson, Nelson, Ojulari, Jones, Judon LE Murphy 27 Wise 26 Sample 25 Thomas 26 LT Slaton 27 Jenkins 28 Jackson 28 Tufele 25 RT Hill 25 Draft Pick UDFA RE Hendrickson 26 Koonce 27 Johnson 28 Johnson Linebackers Need: Upgrade over Pratt. Then an additional guy who can play more in our base 4-3. LB is the toughest position for me because we haven’t needed much talent here in so long. I’d return ADG and Bachie. They both have familiarity with Golden and I assume are back. I like the upside of Njongmeta and Heyward but we can’t count o them quite yet. My choices Denzel Perryman is 32 and his next start will be his 100th. He was a captain for the Chargers last year. He played for Golden at the University of Miami. His PFF pass rush numbers are good and that seems to be what we are looking for. He signed with the Chargers for 1yr 2.3M. He could be a nice bridge to Njongmeta. Grant Stuard started 5 games for the Colts last year after mostly playing on special teams his first 3 years (and his 4th). Stuard had 11 special teams tackles for the U of Houston when James Casey was their special teams coordinator. Other options: Zach Baun, Devin Bush, Dre Greenlaw, Sherwood, Spillane, Ernest Jones, Devin Deablo, Isaiah McDuffie, Willie Gay WLB Davis-Gaither 25 Stuard 26 Heyward 26 MLB Wilson 28 Bachie 25 Young SLB Perryman 26 Njongmeta 27 UDFA Safety Need: Battle played well enough at the end of the year that we probably only need one starter. There are rumblings that Stone is going to get a chance there. I’d hedge him with another veteran and a rookie. I think that this is Xavier Watts no matter what situation and we might over draft him in many people’s eyes. My Choice: This one I’m not too confident in but I went with Ashtyn Davis. Davis was solid last year for the Jets in limited snaps. He has 22 starts in his career but is already 29. Darrick Forrest is another guy. He’s got 17 starts and a UC background. He’s just 26. He played mostly on special teams in 2024. Other options. Qandre Diggs, Justin Blackmon, Darrick Forrest, Juan Thornhill, Jalen Mills, Holland, Bynum, Mathieu, Simmons, Cisco, Hufanga, Pinnock Key, Jules, and Anthony are all back. Anthony might be more of a nickel. I think we’d all love to see Anderson get some scrimmage snaps too. S Battle 27 Davis 26 Draft Pick Key S Stone 26 Anderson 26 Anthony 28 Jules Cornerback Needs: I doubt this is a heavy investment although I’ve seen a lot of people high on adding a CB1. Some mix of Hill-Turner-CTB-Newton and Ivey will be at the core of the position. I do expect them to add a veteran to the room. My Choice: Artie Burns played for both Golden and Desai. He’s 30 and coming off a 1-year 1.2M deal in Seattle. He was on IR last year with a toe injury. Abraham, Davis, Brooks, and Robinson are all interesting. Wilson is probably back on a vet min deal. He didn’t play much last year. For the last 2 years he mostly in the slot but has over 2400 snaps outside. CB Hill 27 Ivey 27 Wilson 25 Abraham CB Taylor-Britt 26 Turner 27 Brooks NB Newton 28 Burns 26 Davis Robinson 28 1 3 Quote
claptonrocks Posted March 4 Report Posted March 4 36 minutes ago, MichaelWeston said: Finished up my Mock offseason. It's a doozy. I feel the least strongly about LB and S. I want a veteran at every position. This is the one place where I can see us legitimately being called cheap. You only pay the top 51 players in your cap and there are offsets for veterans. We still pay the player the amount, but they don’t count that amount against the cap. https://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com/2023/6/3/23747605/explaining-how-the-nfl-works-part-9-veteran-salary-benefit-contracts-four-year-player-qualifying I have done absolutely nothing to look at the draft other than to note that it’s a deep RB-TE and DT draft and throw that logic into my outlook. Quarterback Need: 1 veteran and 1 UDFA for a camp arm/upside. Logan Woodside might be back. Rocky Lombardi is in the UFL after being in camp here last year. My choice: Taylor recruited Desmond Ridder-Ridder at UC when Taylor was the UC OC. He’s bounced around the league but the Raiders have indicated they won’t be tendering him making him a UFA. He’s just 26. He has 18 starts over his pro career so he may want to go somewhere with a less stable starter/backup situation. I believe that Cincinnati is ideal because he’s close to home in Louisville, has familiarity with the city, will get great coaching, and be in a great QB room, it’s a near-perfect one-year career reset situation. The Situation: For Cincinnati, you get a vet in camp for insurance but also Browning likely wants to try to start somewhere and his clock is ticking. He will be 29 in April and 30 in his RFA year. The RFA tenders this year were (First-round tender: $7,458,000; Second-round tender: $5,346,000; Right of first refusal tender: $3,263,000). I could see us going to around that 2nd round level all but eliminating anyone signs him or just letting him test the market as a sign of goodwill. If he finds a place to compete for a starting role he moves on, if he doesn’t he stays. Several teams a year seem to want a guy like Browning to pair with a Rookie or another veteran in a training camp battle. He’s probably in that 28-35 best QBs in the NFL range…think Minshew and Winston. https://www.nfl.com/prospects/desmond-ridder/32005249-4408-0474-6bc7-b6ac95881989 QB Burrow 29 Browning 26 Ridder 26 UDFA Running Back Need: Clarity around the depth. Williams, Evans, Herbert, and Moss filled out the roster last year. All have unknown futures at the position. Releasing Moss saves 3.3M. Herbert was traded for a 7th-rounder. It’s reportedly an exceptionally deep draft with 30-40 draftable RBs. The Bengals need someone who can start if Brown should be out. This class is weak in those types of guys. Moss (17 starts, 2300+ career yards) and Herbert (13 starts, 1900+ yards) are two of the guys who fit the backup role the best. External free agents who fit the mold are Cam Akers (17 starts, 2000+ yards), Raheem Mostert (39 starts 3700+ yards), Jeff Wilson (16 starts 2300+ yards), and Alexander Mattison (26 starts, 2700+ yards). JK Dobbins and Javonte Williams are two guys who, while injury-prone, could also be added to the list if they don’t return to start at their 2024 homes or find a bigger role elsewhere. Without an obvious external upgrade, despite the 3.3M, I’d bring back Moss for at least camp. He wasn’t having a great year before his neck injury but he averaged 4.3, 4.9, and 4.2 in 3 of his 4 seasons prior. I’d bring Herbert back as well. Before last year he averaged 4.6, 5.7, and 4.2 yards per carry. Both are 27. My Choice: Ameer Abdullah would be my replacement for Trevyon Williams. At 32 he’s nearing the end of an interesting career; I am sure he’d love to find a contender to go out on. He’s coming off a year where he received his most starts (3), ran for the most yards (311-4.7 avg-2tds) since 2017, and had the most productive pass-catching year of his career (40-261-6.5-3). This while he still had 4 tackles (he had 12 in 2023) on 192 snaps on special teams. For comparison, T-Will had 2 tackles on 253 snaps. Abdullah also returned punts and kicks in 2024. Abdullah is also a Nebraska alum, something that I am sure isn’t lost on Taylor. Our new OL assistant coached Abdullah in Detroit in 2017. He made 1 year 1.85M last season. On top of Abdullah, I’d add a couple of rookies, preferably post-draft because of the depth at the position but possibly with a 4-6th pick. Then I’d add them to Milton and Brightwell. Brightwell has some upside as a special teamer with 8 tackles as a rookie on 195 snaps. Historically the team has liked to draft a RB every two years. It wouldn’t be a surprise if they target one in the draft and just re-sign T-Will. RB Brown 27 Moss 26 Herbert 25 Abdullah 26 Milton 26 Brightwell UDFA UDFA Wide Receiver Need: WR 2 and depth at WR. Higgins Higgins Higgins. I have vacillated back and forth and have concluded that you tag him and then pay him. I get the logic in not doing it. He’s oft-injured, you have a top 5 QB who should be able to win without 2 stud WRs, and you already have a stud WR. The other argument is clear. Higgins is a stud WR on a team where we have few stars. We have a history of giving up stars and regretting it (Whitworth, Bates, Reader). We don’t have a ton of other positions to pay. I pay him whatever he wants and bring him back. If Chase gets injured you are still fine and can win a Super Bowl. That’s important. My Choices: Noah Brown: Brown is on a 1-year 1.2M deal in Washington, he caught 35-453-12.9-1 on that deal. He plays mostly outside with great size (6’2 225). In 2023 he went for 8-172 on us. He’s 29. He started 9 games last year so he might have a higher ceiling in a bad WR draft and free agency. Simi Fehoko: Each year I have a guy or 2 that I want despite a potential lack of fit. Evan Brown and Morgan Fox were 2 guys I just wanted on the roster and we could figure it out later. Fehoko is that guy for me this year. He’s just 25, great size (6’4 222). He has just 10 career catches for 106 yards. He saw his most snaps last year with 244 on offense. He has played some special teams, (81 snaps in 2024). I’d pay a bit just to get him on the roster. https://www.nfl.com/prospects/simi-fehoko/32004645-4855-6867-28d1-9272a231323b On top of these two, you are returning Burton-Jones-Isaiah Williams-Burgess-Pryor and the newly added Tinsley. Burton is on a short leash. Add a UDFA as we always do at the position. Fehoko is a luxury signing and I get not bringing him in but I’d love to just see what he can do and buy low on a guy I think could end up being very good. WR Chase 26 Brown 26 Burton 28 Tinsley WR Higgins 25 Fehoko 27 Pryor Burgess WR Iosivas 27 Williams 27 Jones 27 UDFA Tight End Need: Stability. The team has had success at TE for most of the Taylor tenure but very few guys have had great back-to-back seasons. CJ and Hurst both took their Bengals seasons to nice paydays. Gesicki could be the next but there is talk that he might be the first of the big 4 back. Still, the team would rather have a multi-faceted TE who doesn’t tip his role. Gesicki is much more of a pass catcher than a blocker and played in the slot 68% of the time last year. Gesicki would be brought back under my plan and then you are looking at finding a multifaceted guy. You essentially would have two outside TEs in Gesicki and McClachlan and two inline TEs in Sample and Cam Grandy. Grandy probably is the best guy on the roster at doing both. https://www.nfl.com/prospects/tanner-mclachlan/32004d43-4c01-0607-d7e7-bb284fe4b839 The TE market has some interesting guys: Tyler Conklin, Juwan Johnson, Austin Hooper, Moe-Alie Cox, Hunter Long, and Tommy Tremble. But who is the guy who can give you what All gave you last year? Johnson is more like Gesicki. Conklin can do both but hasn’t blocked well. Hooper and Alie-Cox are both good blockers but came in known for their pass-catching. Long and Tremble have unrealized potential. This is a position I’d re-sign Gesicki and then partner him with Sample, Grandy, and McClachlan and hope that we can find a day 2 or 3 multi-faceted TE in what is known as a very deep draft Tanner Hudson is a bit of a predicament here. He would likely return on a league-minimum deal, he caught 19 balls and played 231 snaps on special teams. It seems like a no-brainer to bring him back. But I think we should move on at the same time. TE Gesicki 25 Sample 27 Draft Pick Grandy 26 McClachlan 28 Hudson 25 UDFA All 28 Offensive Line Needs: 2 New starting Guards, a Swing tackle, and hope. Brown, Karras, and Mims are back as starters. Lee is back as an interior depth piece that may or may not be able to play G but looked good at C in the preseason. They want Cody Ford back and I expect that. He’s just 28 and played every position but C last year for them. Kirkland is an ERFA that I think could start at some point and should be back. Then we have Coker, Steuber, Cochran, and Manning as younger vets and future guys. I thought Cochran looked good last year in moments. Manning’s profile is interesting as an upside G at RG. My Choices: LG Evan Brown is a guy I have wanted for a while. He might not be the flashiest name here but that might help us get him at a lower rate allowing us to spend elsewhere. While he played LG in 24, he’s started at both C and RG and might be a solid alternative at C should Karras walk after this year and Matt Lee not be ready. He’s 28 with 57 career starts. Last year he played on a 1 year 2.35M deal RG Brandon Scherff is a guy everyone has wanted for a while. He’s bound to want to close out what could be a hall-of-fame career with a winner. He’s got 140 career starts…all at RG. His last contract was 3 years 49.5M. Would 1-2 years around 10M a piece do it? He will be 33 next season. Tackle Kendall Lamm is also 33. He played for Peters in 2020. Last year he started 7 games in Miami. He’s got 44 over his career. He played on a 1 year 2.52M deal last year. He has over 1000 snaps at LT and 1700 at RT. Other options: LG: Jenkins, Risner, Tomlinson, Mekari, Jones (Mia), Bredeson RG: Daniels, Fries, Zietler, Becton, Colon, Pryor, Hernandez, Van Roten, Corbett, Radunz Tackle: Lucas, Moses, Hudson Last year there seemed to be momentum around all the names we signed. This year I keep hearing Mekari. He is probably a better option than Brown. Pryor and Hernandez are interesting because they are probably cheaper. In this scenario, Cappa would be gone and Scherff would start at RG. Ford-Volson and Kirkland would all be seen as potential next men up at that RG spot. Volson played predominately RT in college. Kirkland started his first 25 games at RG, then 18 at LT and 9 at LG. LT Brown 27 Lamm 26 Cochran 26 LG Brown 28 Kirkland 25 C Karras 26 Lee 28 UDFA RG Scherff 26 Volson 26 Steuber 26 Manning RT Mims 29 Ford 25 Coker Special Teams Needs: Stability at Kicker Everyone is back but York is still up in the air. I believe he is an ERFA and I’d bring him back. York was a former 4th rounder. He went 24-42 as a Rookie and was dropped. Last year he went 9 for 11 for us. McPherson was 16 of 22 last year. After a very solid first 3 seasons. Having York in camp gives us insurance if McPherson is still struggling. K McPherson 28 York 25 P Rehkow 27 LS Adomitis 26 Defensive Tackle Need: New DT or 2 to pair with last year's two picks. Both showed well but weren’t obvious starters. I’d bring Hill back. He’s effective and a good part of the locker room. At 30 it shouldn’t cost a ton. Then, like TE, I’d take advantage of a deep draft and snag a nice 3T in one of the first 2 days. I’d bring Tufele back on a 1 year Min. My Choice: TJ Slaton of the Packers played for our DL coach for 3 seasons. He’s just 27 and 6’5 330. PFF never scored him well but ESPN has him as the #1 run-stop Win rate of 46%. He’s had at least 30 tackles each of the last 3 years starting all 17 games in 23 and 24. Other options: Poona Ford, Calais Campbell, Milton Williams, Jarran Reed, Sebastian Joseph-Day, Mario Edwards, Adam Butler, Wharton, Kinlaw, Jenkins. Defensive End Need-More juice. Whether or not they can pay Hendrickson they need more pass rush juice. Murphy has upside still, Ced Johnson showed well in late snaps. Isaiah Thomas and Raymond Johnson are good camp guys. Outside of Hendrickson, there are big questions about whether they bring Ossai and/or Sample back. Ossai played pretty well at the end of the year. I think they’d like him back but the market could outprice them. Sample can probably be back on the minimum coming off an injury. My choices Deitrich Wise is 31, he’s coming off a year where he was coached by our DL coach and was a captain. He has 34 career sacks including 5 last year and 17 over the last 3 seasons. He’s got to want to be off that Patriots team and on to a winner to close out his career. Adding a captain is always smart. At 280 he can be an inside outside guy. Malcolm Koonce is coming off a torn ACL, after 2023 that saw him with 8sacks, 3 forced fumbles, and 17hurries. He’s undersized for what we like at 6’2 250 but I think having some diversity it types of players will be what Golden wants. The red flag is that his 3rd year was the only impact year he had, and the knee injury took him out of building off that. I think he’s a buy-low candidate with potential major upside. Other Options: Khalil Mack, Derek Barnett, Josh Sweat, Chase Young, Preston Smith, Golston, Fowler, Taylor, Lawson, Nelson, Ojulari, Jones, Judon LE Murphy 27 Wise 26 Sample 25 Thomas 26 LT Slaton 27 Jenkins 28 Jackson 28 Tufele 25 RT Hill 25 Draft Pick UDFA RE Hendrickson 26 Koonce 27 Johnson 28 Johnson Linebackers Need: Upgrade over Pratt. Then an additional guy who can play more in our base 4-3. LB is the toughest position for me because we haven’t needed much talent here in so long. I’d return ADG and Bachie. They both have familiarity with Golden and I assume are back. I like the upside of Njongmeta and Heyward but we can’t count o them quite yet. My choices Denzel Perryman is 32 and his next start will be his 100th. He was a captain for the Chargers last year. He played for Golden at the University of Miami. His PFF pass rush numbers are good and that seems to be what we are looking for. He signed with the Chargers for 1yr 2.3M. He could be a nice bridge to Njongmeta. Grant Stuard started 5 games for the Colts last year after mostly playing on special teams his first 3 years (and his 4th). Stuard had 11 special teams tackles for the U of Houston when James Casey was their special teams coordinator. Other options: Zach Baun, Devin Bush, Dre Greenlaw, Sherwood, Spillane, Ernest Jones, Devin Deablo, Isaiah McDuffie, Willie Gay WLB Davis-Gaither 25 Stuard 26 Heyward 26 MLB Wilson 28 Bachie 25 Young SLB Perryman 26 Njongmeta 27 UDFA Safety Need: Battle played well enough at the end of the year that we probably only need one starter. There are rumblings that Stone is going to get a chance there. I’d hedge him with another veteran and a rookie. I think that this is Xavier Watts no matter what situation and we might over draft him in many people’s eyes. My Choice: This one I’m not too confident in but I went with Ashtyn Davis. Davis was solid last year for the Jets in limited snaps. He has 22 starts in his career but is already 29. Darrick Forrest is another guy. He’s got 17 starts and a UC background. He’s just 26. He played mostly on special teams in 2024. Other options. Qandre Diggs, Justin Blackmon, Darrick Forrest, Juan Thornhill, Jalen Mills, Holland, Bynum, Mathieu, Simmons, Cisco, Hufanga, Pinnock Key, Jules, and Anthony are all back. Anthony might be more of a nickel. I think we’d all love to see Anderson get some scrimmage snaps too. S Battle 27 Davis 26 Draft Pick Key S Stone 26 Anderson 26 Anthony 28 Jules Cornerback Needs: I doubt this is a heavy investment although I’ve seen a lot of people high on adding a CB1. Some mix of Hill-Turner-CTB-Newton and Ivey will be at the core of the position. I do expect them to add a veteran to the room. My Choice: Artie Burns played for both Golden and Desai. He’s 30 and coming off a 1-year 1.2M deal in Seattle. He was on IR last year with a toe injury. Abraham, Davis, Brooks, and Robinson are all interesting. Wilson is probably back on a vet min deal. He didn’t play much last year. For the last 2 years he mostly in the slot but has over 2400 snaps outside. CB Hill 27 Ivey 27 Wilson 25 Abraham CB Taylor-Britt 26 Turner 27 Brooks NB Newton 28 Burns 26 Davis Robinson 28 Tyceen and Anthony with a late mid picki.. As long as Anderson stays healthy they're all right unless they go all in and draft Maliki Starks in rd1. Quote
claptonrocks Posted March 4 Report Posted March 4 27 minutes ago, MichaelWeston said: Finished up my Mock offseason. It's a doozy. I feel the least strongly about LB and S. I want a veteran at every position. This is the one place where I can see us legitimately being called cheap. You only pay the top 51 players in your cap and there are offsets for veterans. We still pay the player the amount, but they don’t count that amount against the cap. https://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com/2023/6/3/23747605/explaining-how-the-nfl-works-part-9-veteran-salary-benefit-contracts-four-year-player-qualifying I have done absolutely nothing to look at the draft other than to note that it’s a deep RB-TE and DT draft and throw that logic into my outlook. Quarterback Need: 1 veteran and 1 UDFA for a camp arm/upside. Logan Woodside might be back. Rocky Lombardi is in the UFL after being in camp here last year. My choice: Taylor recruited Desmond Ridder-Ridder at UC when Taylor was the UC OC. He’s bounced around the league but the Raiders have indicated they won’t be tendering him making him a UFA. He’s just 26. He has 18 starts over his pro career so he may want to go somewhere with a less stable starter/backup situation. I believe that Cincinnati is ideal because he’s close to home in Louisville, has familiarity with the city, will get great coaching, and be in a great QB room, it’s a near-perfect one-year career reset situation. The Situation: For Cincinnati, you get a vet in camp for insurance but also Browning likely wants to try to start somewhere and his clock is ticking. He will be 29 in April and 30 in his RFA year. The RFA tenders this year were (First-round tender: $7,458,000; Second-round tender: $5,346,000; Right of first refusal tender: $3,263,000). I could see us going to around that 2nd round level all but eliminating anyone signs him or just letting him test the market as a sign of goodwill. If he finds a place to compete for a starting role he moves on, if he doesn’t he stays. Several teams a year seem to want a guy like Browning to pair with a Rookie or another veteran in a training camp battle. He’s probably in that 28-35 best QBs in the NFL range…think Minshew and Winston. https://www.nfl.com/prospects/desmond-ridder/32005249-4408-0474-6bc7-b6ac95881989 QB Burrow 29 Browning 26 Ridder 26 UDFA Running Back Need: Clarity around the depth. Williams, Evans, Herbert, and Moss filled out the roster last year. All have unknown futures at the position. Releasing Moss saves 3.3M. Herbert was traded for a 7th-rounder. It’s reportedly an exceptionally deep draft with 30-40 draftable RBs. The Bengals need someone who can start if Brown should be out. This class is weak in those types of guys. Moss (17 starts, 2300+ career yards) and Herbert (13 starts, 1900+ yards) are two of the guys who fit the backup role the best. External free agents who fit the mold are Cam Akers (17 starts, 2000+ yards), Raheem Mostert (39 starts 3700+ yards), Jeff Wilson (16 starts 2300+ yards), and Alexander Mattison (26 starts, 2700+ yards). JK Dobbins and Javonte Williams are two guys who, while injury-prone, could also be added to the list if they don’t return to start at their 2024 homes or find a bigger role elsewhere. Without an obvious external upgrade, despite the 3.3M, I’d bring back Moss for at least camp. He wasn’t having a great year before his neck injury but he averaged 4.3, 4.9, and 4.2 in 3 of his 4 seasons prior. I’d bring Herbert back as well. Before last year he averaged 4.6, 5.7, and 4.2 yards per carry. Both are 27. My Choice: Ameer Abdullah would be my replacement for Trevyon Williams. At 32 he’s nearing the end of an interesting career; I am sure he’d love to find a contender to go out on. He’s coming off a year where he received his most starts (3), ran for the most yards (311-4.7 avg-2tds) since 2017, and had the most productive pass-catching year of his career (40-261-6.5-3). This while he still had 4 tackles (he had 12 in 2023) on 192 snaps on special teams. For comparison, T-Will had 2 tackles on 253 snaps. Abdullah also returned punts and kicks in 2024. Abdullah is also a Nebraska alum, something that I am sure isn’t lost on Taylor. Our new OL assistant coached Abdullah in Detroit in 2017. He made 1 year 1.85M last season. On top of Abdullah, I’d add a couple of rookies, preferably post-draft because of the depth at the position but possibly with a 4-6th pick. Then I’d add them to Milton and Brightwell. Brightwell has some upside as a special teamer with 8 tackles as a rookie on 195 snaps. Historically the team has liked to draft a RB every two years. It wouldn’t be a surprise if they target one in the draft and just re-sign T-Will. RB Brown 27 Moss 26 Herbert 25 Abdullah 26 Milton 26 Brightwell UDFA UDFA Wide Receiver Need: WR 2 and depth at WR. Higgins Higgins Higgins. I have vacillated back and forth and have concluded that you tag him and then pay him. I get the logic in not doing it. He’s oft-injured, you have a top 5 QB who should be able to win without 2 stud WRs, and you already have a stud WR. The other argument is clear. Higgins is a stud WR on a team where we have few stars. We have a history of giving up stars and regretting it (Whitworth, Bates, Reader). We don’t have a ton of other positions to pay. I pay him whatever he wants and bring him back. If Chase gets injured you are still fine and can win a Super Bowl. That’s important. My Choices: Noah Brown: Brown is on a 1-year 1.2M deal in Washington, he caught 35-453-12.9-1 on that deal. He plays mostly outside with great size (6’2 225). In 2023 he went for 8-172 on us. He’s 29. He started 9 games last year so he might have a higher ceiling in a bad WR draft and free agency. Simi Fehoko: Each year I have a guy or 2 that I want despite a potential lack of fit. Evan Brown and Morgan Fox were 2 guys I just wanted on the roster and we could figure it out later. Fehoko is that guy for me this year. He’s just 25, great size (6’4 222). He has just 10 career catches for 106 yards. He saw his most snaps last year with 244 on offense. He has played some special teams, (81 snaps in 2024). I’d pay a bit just to get him on the roster. https://www.nfl.com/prospects/simi-fehoko/32004645-4855-6867-28d1-9272a231323b On top of these two, you are returning Burton-Jones-Isaiah Williams-Burgess-Pryor and the newly added Tinsley. Burton is on a short leash. Add a UDFA as we always do at the position. Fehoko is a luxury signing and I get not bringing him in but I’d love to just see what he can do and buy low on a guy I think could end up being very good. WR Chase 26 Brown 26 Burton 28 Tinsley WR Higgins 25 Fehoko 27 Pryor Burgess WR Iosivas 27 Williams 27 Jones 27 UDFA Tight End Need: Stability. The team has had success at TE for most of the Taylor tenure but very few guys have had great back-to-back seasons. CJ and Hurst both took their Bengals seasons to nice paydays. Gesicki could be the next but there is talk that he might be the first of the big 4 back. Still, the team would rather have a multi-faceted TE who doesn’t tip his role. Gesicki is much more of a pass catcher than a blocker and played in the slot 68% of the time last year. Gesicki would be brought back under my plan and then you are looking at finding a multifaceted guy. You essentially would have two outside TEs in Gesicki and McClachlan and two inline TEs in Sample and Cam Grandy. Grandy probably is the best guy on the roster at doing both. https://www.nfl.com/prospects/tanner-mclachlan/32004d43-4c01-0607-d7e7-bb284fe4b839 The TE market has some interesting guys: Tyler Conklin, Juwan Johnson, Austin Hooper, Moe-Alie Cox, Hunter Long, and Tommy Tremble. But who is the guy who can give you what All gave you last year? Johnson is more like Gesicki. Conklin can do both but hasn’t blocked well. Hooper and Alie-Cox are both good blockers but came in known for their pass-catching. Long and Tremble have unrealized potential. This is a position I’d re-sign Gesicki and then partner him with Sample, Grandy, and McClachlan and hope that we can find a day 2 or 3 multi-faceted TE in what is known as a very deep draft Tanner Hudson is a bit of a predicament here. He would likely return on a league-minimum deal, he caught 19 balls and played 231 snaps on special teams. It seems like a no-brainer to bring him back. But I think we should move on at the same time. TE Gesicki 25 Sample 27 Draft Pick Grandy 26 McClachlan 28 Hudson 25 UDFA All 28 Offensive Line Needs: 2 New starting Guards, a Swing tackle, and hope. Brown, Karras, and Mims are back as starters. Lee is back as an interior depth piece that may or may not be able to play G but looked good at C in the preseason. They want Cody Ford back and I expect that. He’s just 28 and played every position but C last year for them. Kirkland is an ERFA that I think could start at some point and should be back. Then we have Coker, Steuber, Cochran, and Manning as younger vets and future guys. I thought Cochran looked good last year in moments. Manning’s profile is interesting as an upside G at RG. My Choices: LG Evan Brown is a guy I have wanted for a while. He might not be the flashiest name here but that might help us get him at a lower rate allowing us to spend elsewhere. While he played LG in 24, he’s started at both C and RG and might be a solid alternative at C should Karras walk after this year and Matt Lee not be ready. He’s 28 with 57 career starts. Last year he played on a 1 year 2.35M deal RG Brandon Scherff is a guy everyone has wanted for a while. He’s bound to want to close out what could be a hall-of-fame career with a winner. He’s got 140 career starts…all at RG. His last contract was 3 years 49.5M. Would 1-2 years around 10M a piece do it? He will be 33 next season. Tackle Kendall Lamm is also 33. He played for Peters in 2020. Last year he started 7 games in Miami. He’s got 44 over his career. He played on a 1 year 2.52M deal last year. He has over 1000 snaps at LT and 1700 at RT. Other options: LG: Jenkins, Risner, Tomlinson, Mekari, Jones (Mia), Bredeson RG: Daniels, Fries, Zietler, Becton, Colon, Pryor, Hernandez, Van Roten, Corbett, Radunz Tackle: Lucas, Moses, Hudson Last year there seemed to be momentum around all the names we signed. This year I keep hearing Mekari. He is probably a better option than Brown. Pryor and Hernandez are interesting because they are probably cheaper. In this scenario, Cappa would be gone and Scherff would start at RG. Ford-Volson and Kirkland would all be seen as potential next men up at that RG spot. Volson played predominately RT in college. Kirkland started his first 25 games at RG, then 18 at LT and 9 at LG. LT Brown 27 Lamm 26 Cochran 26 LG Brown 28 Kirkland 25 C Karras 26 Lee 28 UDFA RG Scherff 26 Volson 26 Steuber 26 Manning RT Mims 29 Ford 25 Coker Special Teams Needs: Stability at Kicker Everyone is back but York is still up in the air. I believe he is an ERFA and I’d bring him back. York was a former 4th rounder. He went 24-42 as a Rookie and was dropped. Last year he went 9 for 11 for us. McPherson was 16 of 22 last year. After a very solid first 3 seasons. Having York in camp gives us insurance if McPherson is still struggling. K McPherson 28 York 25 P Rehkow 27 LS Adomitis 26 Defensive Tackle Need: New DT or 2 to pair with last year's two picks. Both showed well but weren’t obvious starters. I’d bring Hill back. He’s effective and a good part of the locker room. At 30 it shouldn’t cost a ton. Then, like TE, I’d take advantage of a deep draft and snag a nice 3T in one of the first 2 days. I’d bring Tufele back on a 1 year Min. My Choice: TJ Slaton of the Packers played for our DL coach for 3 seasons. He’s just 27 and 6’5 330. PFF never scored him well but ESPN has him as the #1 run-stop Win rate of 46%. He’s had at least 30 tackles each of the last 3 years starting all 17 games in 23 and 24. Other options: Poona Ford, Calais Campbell, Milton Williams, Jarran Reed, Sebastian Joseph-Day, Mario Edwards, Adam Butler, Wharton, Kinlaw, Jenkins. Defensive End Need-More juice. Whether or not they can pay Hendrickson they need more pass rush juice. Murphy has upside still, Ced Johnson showed well in late snaps. Isaiah Thomas and Raymond Johnson are good camp guys. Outside of Hendrickson, there are big questions about whether they bring Ossai and/or Sample back. Ossai played pretty well at the end of the year. I think they’d like him back but the market could outprice them. Sample can probably be back on the minimum coming off an injury. My choices Deitrich Wise is 31, he’s coming off a year where he was coached by our DL coach and was a captain. He has 34 career sacks including 5 last year and 17 over the last 3 seasons. He’s got to want to be off that Patriots team and on to a winner to close out his career. Adding a captain is always smart. At 280 he can be an inside outside guy. Malcolm Koonce is coming off a torn ACL, after 2023 that saw him with 8sacks, 3 forced fumbles, and 17hurries. He’s undersized for what we like at 6’2 250 but I think having some diversity it types of players will be what Golden wants. The red flag is that his 3rd year was the only impact year he had, and the knee injury took him out of building off that. I think he’s a buy-low candidate with potential major upside. Other Options: Khalil Mack, Derek Barnett, Josh Sweat, Chase Young, Preston Smith, Golston, Fowler, Taylor, Lawson, Nelson, Ojulari, Jones, Judon LE Murphy 27 Wise 26 Sample 25 Thomas 26 LT Slaton 27 Jenkins 28 Jackson 28 Tufele 25 RT Hill 25 Draft Pick UDFA RE Hendrickson 26 Koonce 27 Johnson 28 Johnson Linebackers Need: Upgrade over Pratt. Then an additional guy who can play more in our base 4-3. LB is the toughest position for me because we haven’t needed much talent here in so long. I’d return ADG and Bachie. They both have familiarity with Golden and I assume are back. I like the upside of Njongmeta and Heyward but we can’t count o them quite yet. My choices Denzel Perryman is 32 and his next start will be his 100th. He was a captain for the Chargers last year. He played for Golden at the University of Miami. His PFF pass rush numbers are good and that seems to be what we are looking for. He signed with the Chargers for 1yr 2.3M. He could be a nice bridge to Njongmeta. Grant Stuard started 5 games for the Colts last year after mostly playing on special teams his first 3 years (and his 4th). Stuard had 11 special teams tackles for the U of Houston when James Casey was their special teams coordinator. Other options: Zach Baun, Devin Bush, Dre Greenlaw, Sherwood, Spillane, Ernest Jones, Devin Deablo, Isaiah McDuffie, Willie Gay WLB Davis-Gaither 25 Stuard 26 Heyward 26 MLB Wilson 28 Bachie 25 Young SLB Perryman 26 Njongmeta 27 UDFA Safety Need: Battle played well enough at the end of the year that we probably only need one starter. There are rumblings that Stone is going to get a chance there. I’d hedge him with another veteran and a rookie. I think that this is Xavier Watts no matter what situation and we might over draft him in many people’s eyes. My Choice: This one I’m not too confident in but I went with Ashtyn Davis. Davis was solid last year for the Jets in limited snaps. He has 22 starts in his career but is already 29. Darrick Forrest is another guy. He’s got 17 starts and a UC background. He’s just 26. He played mostly on special teams in 2024. Other options. Qandre Diggs, Justin Blackmon, Darrick Forrest, Juan Thornhill, Jalen Mills, Holland, Bynum, Mathieu, Simmons, Cisco, Hufanga, Pinnock Key, Jules, and Anthony are all back. Anthony might be more of a nickel. I think we’d all love to see Anderson get some scrimmage snaps too. S Battle 27 Davis 26 Draft Pick Key S Stone 26 Anderson 26 Anthony 28 Jules Cornerback Needs: I doubt this is a heavy investment although I’ve seen a lot of people high on adding a CB1. Some mix of Hill-Turner-CTB-Newton and Ivey will be at the core of the position. I do expect them to add a veteran to the room. My Choice: Artie Burns played for both Golden and Desai. He’s 30 and coming off a 1-year 1.2M deal in Seattle. He was on IR last year with a toe injury. Abraham, Davis, Brooks, and Robinson are all interesting. Wilson is probably back on a vet min deal. He didn’t play much last year. For the last 2 years he mostly in the slot but has over 2400 snaps outside. CB Hill 27 Ivey 27 Wilson 25 Abraham CB Taylor-Britt 26 Turner 27 Brooks NB Newton 28 Burns 26 Davis Robinson 28 Brandon Scherf is interesting. Age 33 is a red flag they'll have to consider. Id rather draft a Tate Ratledge type in rd three and be done with the older vets for a year or so. Quote
claptonrocks Posted March 4 Report Posted March 4 33 minutes ago, MichaelWeston said: Finished up my Mock offseason. It's a doozy. I feel the least strongly about LB and S. I want a veteran at every position. This is the one place where I can see us legitimately being called cheap. You only pay the top 51 players in your cap and there are offsets for veterans. We still pay the player the amount, but they don’t count that amount against the cap. https://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com/2023/6/3/23747605/explaining-how-the-nfl-works-part-9-veteran-salary-benefit-contracts-four-year-player-qualifying I have done absolutely nothing to look at the draft other than to note that it’s a deep RB-TE and DT draft and throw that logic into my outlook. Quarterback Need: 1 veteran and 1 UDFA for a camp arm/upside. Logan Woodside might be back. Rocky Lombardi is in the UFL after being in camp here last year. My choice: Taylor recruited Desmond Ridder-Ridder at UC when Taylor was the UC OC. He’s bounced around the league but the Raiders have indicated they won’t be tendering him making him a UFA. He’s just 26. He has 18 starts over his pro career so he may want to go somewhere with a less stable starter/backup situation. I believe that Cincinnati is ideal because he’s close to home in Louisville, has familiarity with the city, will get great coaching, and be in a great QB room, it’s a near-perfect one-year career reset situation. The Situation: For Cincinnati, you get a vet in camp for insurance but also Browning likely wants to try to start somewhere and his clock is ticking. He will be 29 in April and 30 in his RFA year. The RFA tenders this year were (First-round tender: $7,458,000; Second-round tender: $5,346,000; Right of first refusal tender: $3,263,000). I could see us going to around that 2nd round level all but eliminating anyone signs him or just letting him test the market as a sign of goodwill. If he finds a place to compete for a starting role he moves on, if he doesn’t he stays. Several teams a year seem to want a guy like Browning to pair with a Rookie or another veteran in a training camp battle. He’s probably in that 28-35 best QBs in the NFL range…think Minshew and Winston. https://www.nfl.com/prospects/desmond-ridder/32005249-4408-0474-6bc7-b6ac95881989 QB Burrow 29 Browning 26 Ridder 26 UDFA Running Back Need: Clarity around the depth. Williams, Evans, Herbert, and Moss filled out the roster last year. All have unknown futures at the position. Releasing Moss saves 3.3M. Herbert was traded for a 7th-rounder. It’s reportedly an exceptionally deep draft with 30-40 draftable RBs. The Bengals need someone who can start if Brown should be out. This class is weak in those types of guys. Moss (17 starts, 2300+ career yards) and Herbert (13 starts, 1900+ yards) are two of the guys who fit the backup role the best. External free agents who fit the mold are Cam Akers (17 starts, 2000+ yards), Raheem Mostert (39 starts 3700+ yards), Jeff Wilson (16 starts 2300+ yards), and Alexander Mattison (26 starts, 2700+ yards). JK Dobbins and Javonte Williams are two guys who, while injury-prone, could also be added to the list if they don’t return to start at their 2024 homes or find a bigger role elsewhere. Without an obvious external upgrade, despite the 3.3M, I’d bring back Moss for at least camp. He wasn’t having a great year before his neck injury but he averaged 4.3, 4.9, and 4.2 in 3 of his 4 seasons prior. I’d bring Herbert back as well. Before last year he averaged 4.6, 5.7, and 4.2 yards per carry. Both are 27. My Choice: Ameer Abdullah would be my replacement for Trevyon Williams. At 32 he’s nearing the end of an interesting career; I am sure he’d love to find a contender to go out on. He’s coming off a year where he received his most starts (3), ran for the most yards (311-4.7 avg-2tds) since 2017, and had the most productive pass-catching year of his career (40-261-6.5-3). This while he still had 4 tackles (he had 12 in 2023) on 192 snaps on special teams. For comparison, T-Will had 2 tackles on 253 snaps. Abdullah also returned punts and kicks in 2024. Abdullah is also a Nebraska alum, something that I am sure isn’t lost on Taylor. Our new OL assistant coached Abdullah in Detroit in 2017. He made 1 year 1.85M last season. On top of Abdullah, I’d add a couple of rookies, preferably post-draft because of the depth at the position but possibly with a 4-6th pick. Then I’d add them to Milton and Brightwell. Brightwell has some upside as a special teamer with 8 tackles as a rookie on 195 snaps. Historically the team has liked to draft a RB every two years. It wouldn’t be a surprise if they target one in the draft and just re-sign T-Will. RB Brown 27 Moss 26 Herbert 25 Abdullah 26 Milton 26 Brightwell UDFA UDFA Wide Receiver Need: WR 2 and depth at WR. Higgins Higgins Higgins. I have vacillated back and forth and have concluded that you tag him and then pay him. I get the logic in not doing it. He’s oft-injured, you have a top 5 QB who should be able to win without 2 stud WRs, and you already have a stud WR. The other argument is clear. Higgins is a stud WR on a team where we have few stars. We have a history of giving up stars and regretting it (Whitworth, Bates, Reader). We don’t have a ton of other positions to pay. I pay him whatever he wants and bring him back. If Chase gets injured you are still fine and can win a Super Bowl. That’s important. My Choices: Noah Brown: Brown is on a 1-year 1.2M deal in Washington, he caught 35-453-12.9-1 on that deal. He plays mostly outside with great size (6’2 225). In 2023 he went for 8-172 on us. He’s 29. He started 9 games last year so he might have a higher ceiling in a bad WR draft and free agency. Simi Fehoko: Each year I have a guy or 2 that I want despite a potential lack of fit. Evan Brown and Morgan Fox were 2 guys I just wanted on the roster and we could figure it out later. Fehoko is that guy for me this year. He’s just 25, great size (6’4 222). He has just 10 career catches for 106 yards. He saw his most snaps last year with 244 on offense. He has played some special teams, (81 snaps in 2024). I’d pay a bit just to get him on the roster. https://www.nfl.com/prospects/simi-fehoko/32004645-4855-6867-28d1-9272a231323b On top of these two, you are returning Burton-Jones-Isaiah Williams-Burgess-Pryor and the newly added Tinsley. Burton is on a short leash. Add a UDFA as we always do at the position. Fehoko is a luxury signing and I get not bringing him in but I’d love to just see what he can do and buy low on a guy I think could end up being very good. WR Chase 26 Brown 26 Burton 28 Tinsley WR Higgins 25 Fehoko 27 Pryor Burgess WR Iosivas 27 Williams 27 Jones 27 UDFA Tight End Need: Stability. The team has had success at TE for most of the Taylor tenure but very few guys have had great back-to-back seasons. CJ and Hurst both took their Bengals seasons to nice paydays. Gesicki could be the next but there is talk that he might be the first of the big 4 back. Still, the team would rather have a multi-faceted TE who doesn’t tip his role. Gesicki is much more of a pass catcher than a blocker and played in the slot 68% of the time last year. Gesicki would be brought back under my plan and then you are looking at finding a multifaceted guy. You essentially would have two outside TEs in Gesicki and McClachlan and two inline TEs in Sample and Cam Grandy. Grandy probably is the best guy on the roster at doing both. https://www.nfl.com/prospects/tanner-mclachlan/32004d43-4c01-0607-d7e7-bb284fe4b839 The TE market has some interesting guys: Tyler Conklin, Juwan Johnson, Austin Hooper, Moe-Alie Cox, Hunter Long, and Tommy Tremble. But who is the guy who can give you what All gave you last year? Johnson is more like Gesicki. Conklin can do both but hasn’t blocked well. Hooper and Alie-Cox are both good blockers but came in known for their pass-catching. Long and Tremble have unrealized potential. This is a position I’d re-sign Gesicki and then partner him with Sample, Grandy, and McClachlan and hope that we can find a day 2 or 3 multi-faceted TE in what is known as a very deep draft Tanner Hudson is a bit of a predicament here. He would likely return on a league-minimum deal, he caught 19 balls and played 231 snaps on special teams. It seems like a no-brainer to bring him back. But I think we should move on at the same time. TE Gesicki 25 Sample 27 Draft Pick Grandy 26 McClachlan 28 Hudson 25 UDFA All 28 Offensive Line Needs: 2 New starting Guards, a Swing tackle, and hope. Brown, Karras, and Mims are back as starters. Lee is back as an interior depth piece that may or may not be able to play G but looked good at C in the preseason. They want Cody Ford back and I expect that. He’s just 28 and played every position but C last year for them. Kirkland is an ERFA that I think could start at some point and should be back. Then we have Coker, Steuber, Cochran, and Manning as younger vets and future guys. I thought Cochran looked good last year in moments. Manning’s profile is interesting as an upside G at RG. My Choices: LG Evan Brown is a guy I have wanted for a while. He might not be the flashiest name here but that might help us get him at a lower rate allowing us to spend elsewhere. While he played LG in 24, he’s started at both C and RG and might be a solid alternative at C should Karras walk after this year and Matt Lee not be ready. He’s 28 with 57 career starts. Last year he played on a 1 year 2.35M deal RG Brandon Scherff is a guy everyone has wanted for a while. He’s bound to want to close out what could be a hall-of-fame career with a winner. He’s got 140 career starts…all at RG. His last contract was 3 years 49.5M. Would 1-2 years around 10M a piece do it? He will be 33 next season. Tackle Kendall Lamm is also 33. He played for Peters in 2020. Last year he started 7 games in Miami. He’s got 44 over his career. He played on a 1 year 2.52M deal last year. He has over 1000 snaps at LT and 1700 at RT. Other options: LG: Jenkins, Risner, Tomlinson, Mekari, Jones (Mia), Bredeson RG: Daniels, Fries, Zietler, Becton, Colon, Pryor, Hernandez, Van Roten, Corbett, Radunz Tackle: Lucas, Moses, Hudson Last year there seemed to be momentum around all the names we signed. This year I keep hearing Mekari. He is probably a better option than Brown. Pryor and Hernandez are interesting because they are probably cheaper. In this scenario, Cappa would be gone and Scherff would start at RG. Ford-Volson and Kirkland would all be seen as potential next men up at that RG spot. Volson played predominately RT in college. Kirkland started his first 25 games at RG, then 18 at LT and 9 at LG. LT Brown 27 Lamm 26 Cochran 26 LG Brown 28 Kirkland 25 C Karras 26 Lee 28 UDFA RG Scherff 26 Volson 26 Steuber 26 Manning RT Mims 29 Ford 25 Coker Special Teams Needs: Stability at Kicker Everyone is back but York is still up in the air. I believe he is an ERFA and I’d bring him back. York was a former 4th rounder. He went 24-42 as a Rookie and was dropped. Last year he went 9 for 11 for us. McPherson was 16 of 22 last year. After a very solid first 3 seasons. Having York in camp gives us insurance if McPherson is still struggling. K McPherson 28 York 25 P Rehkow 27 LS Adomitis 26 Defensive Tackle Need: New DT or 2 to pair with last year's two picks. Both showed well but weren’t obvious starters. I’d bring Hill back. He’s effective and a good part of the locker room. At 30 it shouldn’t cost a ton. Then, like TE, I’d take advantage of a deep draft and snag a nice 3T in one of the first 2 days. I’d bring Tufele back on a 1 year Min. My Choice: TJ Slaton of the Packers played for our DL coach for 3 seasons. He’s just 27 and 6’5 330. PFF never scored him well but ESPN has him as the #1 run-stop Win rate of 46%. He’s had at least 30 tackles each of the last 3 years starting all 17 games in 23 and 24. Other options: Poona Ford, Calais Campbell, Milton Williams, Jarran Reed, Sebastian Joseph-Day, Mario Edwards, Adam Butler, Wharton, Kinlaw, Jenkins. Defensive End Need-More juice. Whether or not they can pay Hendrickson they need more pass rush juice. Murphy has upside still, Ced Johnson showed well in late snaps. Isaiah Thomas and Raymond Johnson are good camp guys. Outside of Hendrickson, there are big questions about whether they bring Ossai and/or Sample back. Ossai played pretty well at the end of the year. I think they’d like him back but the market could outprice them. Sample can probably be back on the minimum coming off an injury. My choices Deitrich Wise is 31, he’s coming off a year where he was coached by our DL coach and was a captain. He has 34 career sacks including 5 last year and 17 over the last 3 seasons. He’s got to want to be off that Patriots team and on to a winner to close out his career. Adding a captain is always smart. At 280 he can be an inside outside guy. Malcolm Koonce is coming off a torn ACL, after 2023 that saw him with 8sacks, 3 forced fumbles, and 17hurries. He’s undersized for what we like at 6’2 250 but I think having some diversity it types of players will be what Golden wants. The red flag is that his 3rd year was the only impact year he had, and the knee injury took him out of building off that. I think he’s a buy-low candidate with potential major upside. Other Options: Khalil Mack, Derek Barnett, Josh Sweat, Chase Young, Preston Smith, Golston, Fowler, Taylor, Lawson, Nelson, Ojulari, Jones, Judon LE Murphy 27 Wise 26 Sample 25 Thomas 26 LT Slaton 27 Jenkins 28 Jackson 28 Tufele 25 RT Hill 25 Draft Pick UDFA RE Hendrickson 26 Koonce 27 Johnson 28 Johnson Linebackers Need: Upgrade over Pratt. Then an additional guy who can play more in our base 4-3. LB is the toughest position for me because we haven’t needed much talent here in so long. I’d return ADG and Bachie. They both have familiarity with Golden and I assume are back. I like the upside of Njongmeta and Heyward but we can’t count o them quite yet. My choices Denzel Perryman is 32 and his next start will be his 100th. He was a captain for the Chargers last year. He played for Golden at the University of Miami. His PFF pass rush numbers are good and that seems to be what we are looking for. He signed with the Chargers for 1yr 2.3M. He could be a nice bridge to Njongmeta. Grant Stuard started 5 games for the Colts last year after mostly playing on special teams his first 3 years (and his 4th). Stuard had 11 special teams tackles for the U of Houston when James Casey was their special teams coordinator. Other options: Zach Baun, Devin Bush, Dre Greenlaw, Sherwood, Spillane, Ernest Jones, Devin Deablo, Isaiah McDuffie, Willie Gay WLB Davis-Gaither 25 Stuard 26 Heyward 26 MLB Wilson 28 Bachie 25 Young SLB Perryman 26 Njongmeta 27 UDFA Safety Need: Battle played well enough at the end of the year that we probably only need one starter. There are rumblings that Stone is going to get a chance there. I’d hedge him with another veteran and a rookie. I think that this is Xavier Watts no matter what situation and we might over draft him in many people’s eyes. My Choice: This one I’m not too confident in but I went with Ashtyn Davis. Davis was solid last year for the Jets in limited snaps. He has 22 starts in his career but is already 29. Darrick Forrest is another guy. He’s got 17 starts and a UC background. He’s just 26. He played mostly on special teams in 2024. Other options. Qandre Diggs, Justin Blackmon, Darrick Forrest, Juan Thornhill, Jalen Mills, Holland, Bynum, Mathieu, Simmons, Cisco, Hufanga, Pinnock Key, Jules, and Anthony are all back. Anthony might be more of a nickel. I think we’d all love to see Anderson get some scrimmage snaps too. S Battle 27 Davis 26 Draft Pick Key S Stone 26 Anderson 26 Anthony 28 Jules Cornerback Needs: I doubt this is a heavy investment although I’ve seen a lot of people high on adding a CB1. Some mix of Hill-Turner-CTB-Newton and Ivey will be at the core of the position. I do expect them to add a veteran to the room. My Choice: Artie Burns played for both Golden and Desai. He’s 30 and coming off a 1-year 1.2M deal in Seattle. He was on IR last year with a toe injury. Abraham, Davis, Brooks, and Robinson are all interesting. Wilson is probably back on a vet min deal. He didn’t play much last year. For the last 2 years he mostly in the slot but has over 2400 snaps outside. CB Hill 27 Ivey 27 Wilson 25 Abraham CB Taylor-Britt 26 Turner 27 Brooks NB Newton 28 Burns 26 Davis Robinson 28 That's some great work on all of this Michael You've provided tremendous insight to all positions of depth and need .Much respect sir.. 1 Quote
MichaelWeston Posted March 4 Author Report Posted March 4 My guess on how they will approach the positions QB: Afterthought vet with a UDFA RB: Hold on to Moss until at least the draft, take a RB in Rds 3-6 WR: Not much investment TE: Very early investment in the draft. Nothing in FA other than a strong push for Gesicki OL: Vet Swing Tackle and RG. Early draft pick or High priced FA at LG DL: Both a draft pick and a medium priced FA at both DE and DT LB: Medium priced FA to take over for Pratt S: Not much investment in FA, Geno Stone remains on the roster to hedge for a bad situation in the draft CB: Not much investment in either FA or the draft. I think they think they have the players even if they don't know where they will play. I think Pratt-Moss and Stone are all guys who may not be cut until their replacement is secured. 1 Quote
MichaelWeston Posted March 10 Author Report Posted March 10 Adjusted to take off Hendrickson -Took off Noah Brown and a TE Draft pick, Added early DE pick QB Burrow 29 Browning 26 Ridder 26 UDFA RB Brown 27 Moss 26 Herbert 25 Abdullah 26 Milton 26 Brightwell UDFA UDFA WR Chase 26 Fehoko 27 Burton 28 Tinsley WR Higgins 25 Jones 27 Pryor UDFA WR Iosivas 27 Williams 27 Burgess TE Gesicki 28 Sample 27 Grandy 26 McClachlan 28 Hudson 26 UDFA UDFA All 28 LT Brown 27 Lamm 26 Cochran 26 LG Brown 28 Kirkland 26 C Karras 26 Lee 28 UDFA RG Scherff 26 Volson 26 Steuber 26 Manning RT Mims 29 Ford 27 Coker K McPherson 28 York 25 P Rehkow 27 LS Adomitis 26 LE Murphy 27 Wise 26 Sample 25 Thomas 26 LT Slaton 27 Jenkins 28 Jackson 28 Tufele 25 RT Hill 25 Draft Pick UDFA RE Koonce 27 Draft Pick Johnson 28 Johnson WLB Davis-Gaither 25 Stuard 26 Heyward 26 MLB Wilson 28 Bachie 25 Young SLB Perryman 26 Njongmeta 27 UDFA S Battle 27 Davis 26 Draft Pick Key S Stone 26 Anderson 26 Anthony 28 Jules CB Hill 27 Ivey 27 Wilson 25 Abraham CB Taylor-Britt 26 Turner 27 Brooks NB Newton 28 Burns 26 Davis Robinson 28 Quote
MichaelWeston Posted March 10 Author Report Posted March 10 Plan is still available Perine over Abdullah Hendrickson over Koonce Ossai over Wise Quote
MichaelWeston Posted March 11 Author Report Posted March 11 Free Agency Day 2. The plan QB-Nothing RB-After Perrine you probably want a rookie WR-Simi Fehoko, Get an outside receiver with some upside TE-Not really anyone that's an obvious 2 way guy. I bet they wait for the Draft here. OL-I'd still like 2 Guards and a swing tackle LG-Risner, Jenkins, Tomlinson RG-Fries, Zeitler, Becton, Colon, Pryor, Hernandex, Van Roten, Scherf, Radunz Tackle-Lamm, Lucas DL-Still talent at edge DT-Calais Campbell, Allen, Hargrove, Onwuzurike DE-Fowler, Ojulari, Uche, Turner, Judon, Deitrich Wise, DreMont Jones, Von Miller LB-Still some talent here Devin Bush, Grant Stuard, Shaq Thompson, Denzel Perryman, DeAblo S-Could still use an upgrade Diggs-Blackmon-Forrest-Mills-Thornhill-Holland-Mathieu-Simmons-Pinnock- Quote
MichaelWeston Posted March 11 Author Report Posted March 11 If I had to hazard a guess of what we finish off with LB-Perryman G-Becton DL-Onzuriweke S-Forrest 1 Quote
Jamie_B Posted March 11 Report Posted March 11 I think Tee and Jamar, maybe Trey, and a guard is what gets done. Quote
sparky151 Posted March 11 Report Posted March 11 11 hours ago, MichaelWeston said: If I had to hazard a guess of what we finish off with LB-Perryman G-Becton DL-Onzuriweke S-Forrest I don't see the team spending big for Becton or Onwuzurike. I'll guess we add 2 guards and 1 or 2 LBs, probably a swing tackle. Use the draft for another RB and DE. See about trading for Mayer and maybe use a day 3 pick at TE if they feel the need. I think they'll hang on to Stone until they see if they can draft Watts or Mukuba. 1 Quote
MichaelWeston Posted March 12 Author Report Posted March 12 Heading into day 3. QB: Brandon Allen and Desmond Ridder still out there. We shall see what happens here later in the week/weeks RB: Perrine is a solid 3rd RB/STs guy and he probably has an agreement for what his role will be, probably some snaps from scrimmage. BUT AJ Dillon is out there, coming off stingers that derailed his career. At a vet min deal might be interesting WR: I assume both Chase and Higgins are back...with that said I am bargain shopping for guys I like: -Greg Dortch-Very small but productive -Elijah Moore-Just 25 with upside in a Burrow offense -Rondale Moore-Similar -Simi Fehoko TE: Tyler Conklin, Moe Alie-Cox LG: Teven Jenkins, Dalton Risner, Lucas Patrick RG: Zeitler, Scherf, Hernandez, Pryor, Colon, Becton, Van Roten, Radunz T: Lamm, Smith, Fant DT: Campbell, Owuzirike DE: Fowler, Lawson, Ogbah, Ojulari, Wise LB: Kendrick, Wilson, Perryman, Gay S: Diggs, Blackmon, Thornhill, Forrest, Mills, Simmons CB: Probably the slot Oliver and Burns 1 Quote
claptonrocks Posted March 12 Report Posted March 12 2 hours ago, MichaelWeston said: Heading into day 3. QB: Brandon Allen and Desmond Ridder still out there. We shall see what happens here later in the week/weeks RB: Perrine is a solid 3rd RB/STs guy and he probably has an agreement for what his role will be, probably some snaps from scrimmage. BUT AJ Dillon is out there, coming off stingers that derailed his career. At a vet min deal might be interesting WR: I assume both Chase and Higgins are back...with that said I am bargain shopping for guys I like: -Greg Dortch-Very small but productive -Elijah Moore-Just 25 with upside in a Burrow offense -Rondale Moore-Similar -Simi Fehoko TE: Tyler Conklin, Moe Alie-Cox LG: Teven Jenkins, Dalton Risner, Lucas Patrick RG: Zeitler, Scherf, Hernandez, Pryor, Colon, Becton, Van Roten, Radunz T: Lamm, Smith, Fant DT: Campbell, Owuzirike DE: Fowler, Lawson, Ogbah, Ojulari, Wise LB: Kendrick, Wilson, Perryman, Gay S: Diggs, Blackmon, Thornhill, Forrest, Mills, Simmons CB: Probably the slot Oliver and Burns Sign Zeitler for RG... Draft a highly touted LG.. It's not that hard.... 1 Quote
I_C_Deadpeople Posted March 12 Report Posted March 12 1 hour ago, claptonrocks said: Sign Zeitler for RG... Draft a highly touted LG.. It's not that hard.... FO cant seem to multi task so it may very well be hard 2 Quote
MichaelWeston Posted March 12 Author Report Posted March 12 QB Brandon Allen Desmond Ridder RB AJ Dillon WR Olimade Zaccheaus Simi Fehoko MeCole Hardeman WR Noah Brown Sterling Shepard WR Greg Dortch Rondale Moore Elijah Moore TE Tyler Conklin Evan Engram Mo Allie Cox LT Kendall Lamm Donovan Smith Noah Fant LG Teven Jenkins Dalton Risner Lucas Patrick C RG Kevin Zeitler John Feliciano Mekhi Becton Matt Pryor Will Hernandez Brandon Scherf Greg Van Roten RT DT Calais Campbell Onwuzirike DE Donte Fowler Carl Lawson Emanuel Ogbah Aziz Ojulari Deitrich Wise LB Eric Kendricks Shaq Thompson Eric Wilson Denzel Perryman Willie Gay S Julian Blackmon Quandre Diggs Juan Thornhill Jalen Mills Justin Simmons CB Artie Burns Isaiah Oliver Quote
sparky151 Posted March 12 Report Posted March 12 2 hours ago, claptonrocks said: Sign Zeitler for RG... Draft a highly touted LG.. It's not that hard.... We don't want to be forced to use an early pick at guard. 17 is too high for Jackson or Booker but they likely won't be available at 49. So the play to get one of them would be to trade down from 17 but we also need an edge rusher so then you're trading up from 49 and giving up picks. Much better to sign a couple of veteran guards and not have an open starting position going into the draft. Quote
T-Dub Posted March 13 Report Posted March 13 5 hours ago, sparky151 said: Much better to sign a couple of veteran guards and not have an open starting position going into the draft. Just one, please. Someone like Bobbie Williams. Solid, can move the LOS, plays hard if not exactly a world-beater. Just one good guard. I could accept losing anyone other than Chase if they could at least manage one vet OL that's not a bunch of bullshit like Collins or Brown. I know there's a whole list of needs, LDE is a problem because again, rookie linemen tend to struggle... But that's all, that's my list: a single, OK-ish NFL guard. Did they even make a call to Zeitler because who would rather play for the Titans? Have to wonder if he was the uninterested one. He's seen how they make the sausage here, after all. Maybe he let that one go to VM? Quote
sparky151 Posted March 13 Report Posted March 13 It's a wishlist thread so I wish the Bengals would get off their keisters and patch some obvious holes. They know the free agent's asking prices. Instead of trying to beat them down, find a combination the team is comfortable paying and get it done. Jeez. Quote
MichaelWeston Posted March 13 Author Report Posted March 13 Going through and updating rosters and adding the Best free agents available regardless of our need/fit. QB Desmond Ridder Trey Lance RB Nick Chubb JK Dobbins WR Olimade Zaccheaus Simi Fehoko MeCole Hardeman Tim Patrick WR Terrence Marshall Sterling Shepard Brandin Cooks Stefon Diggs WR Rondale Moore Elijah Moore Keenan Allen TE Tyler Conklin Mo Allie Cox Quinton Morris Ian Thomas Jordan Akins Josiah Deguara LT Kendall Lamm Donovan Smith George Fant Jedrick Wills LG Teven Jenkins Dalton Risner Lucas Patrick C RG Brandon Scherf John Feliciano Mekhi Becton Matt Pryor Will Hernandez Shaq Mason Trystan Colon RT DT Calais Campbell Maurice Hurst DE Donte Fowler Carl Lawson Emanuel Ogbah Aziz Ojulari James Houston Dennis Gardeck Matt Judon John Cominsky Morgan Fox LB Eric Kendricks Shaq Thompson Eric Wilson Krys Barnes Willie Gay Kyzir White EJ Speed S Julian Blackmon Quandre Diggs Juan Thornhill Jalen Mills Justin Simmons CB Artie Burns Rasul Douglas Asante Samuel Quote
-GoBengals- Posted March 14 Report Posted March 14 On 3/12/2025 at 7:22 PM, sparky151 said: It's a wishlist thread so I wish the Bengals would get off their keisters and patch some obvious holes. They know the free agent's asking prices. Instead of trying to beat them down, find a combination the team is comfortable paying and get it done. Jeez. still dont know why people think this is how this goes.. this isnt a negative post, this isnt a trash talking post, this isnt an excuse post.. its just the reality of the situation. so like, do you think... that the bengals call an agent, and its like "yeah Houston and Miami have offers in for 3 years 26mill for my client" and the bengals are like "how about 3 years 25.8 million?" how exactly do you think they are lowballing? lemme ask this... when a player comes to Miami for a visit as a free agent, where would you find them for dinner? no idea right? ok like most places could be any of 100 places .... how about when they come to Cincinnati? 3 options, and they all ahve the same owners name on the front. pick a Jeff Ruby.... cause thats all cincinnati has to offer. OBJ was at the fucking mall walking around on his own on his visit.... kenwood mall... the mall i ran into Chris henry twice, the mall i saw pacman 4-5 times, the mall chad went to all the time... kenwood damn mall... the mall i would get chik fil a breakfast in the 30 minutes it was serviced cause the food court opened at 10 at my shitty retail cell phone job... thats where the nfl players go to pass time. so lets square that up... if i have offers from dallas, jacksonville, houston, miami, tampa, and cincinnati. with me? and all are offering 3 years 26 million. I make the least amount of money in Cincinnati, state tax is the highest in ohio. Places with worse state tax burdens: California, Chicago, NY, Kansas, the rest appear to be the same or lower. and in those cities, minus KC, your opportunity to make endorsements cash and appearances is 100X that in other states. so even cali or NYX or chicago you can more easily make that money up.. on top of the better entertainment options, lifestyle, or beaches, etc.. all teams arent created equal, all money isnt equal even if offers are. and you gotta know, all of these players have visited cincinnati on road trips. they know if they wanna live here, mostly on a saturday night, so those night life is important to, have seen the best it has to offer. Von Miller hits the sneaker store for private shopping at night, guys hit the one night club, guys go to Diamins in miamisburgh, there are guys are at the peak of their lives, peak earning, peak party time, peak everything... it takes a special player to want to spend that peak in a place like cincinnati. Uzomah left for NY for the same or less money because he wanted to get into sports broadcasting for post career and the opportunities were plentiful there, Whitworth chose LA regardless of reason for leaving cincay, for opprtunities for his wife and himself who were into tv and broadcasting and news, and LA offered a ton. and now he is in broadcasting. every player who doesnt come here isnt because the front office was being cheap. cincinnati doesnt have much to offer young multimillionaires. thats life. its not a knock on cincinnati, thats many cities.. so you gotta find the free agents who dont care about that, AND dont have aspirations in major media, AND are hopfully looking to win with a guy like burrow here. im not shitting on cincinnati, everyone always gets in their feelings about this... but its fucking true and everyone pretends it isnt. 1 Quote
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