Bengals starter hints at getting a second chance following his disappointing first season in Cincinnati
Pinpointing the amount of change on the defensive side of the ball for the Cincinnati Bengals is a tricky question to answer. New defensive coordinator Al Golden has free rein to recreate the unit in his image, which signifies the end for older veterans like linebacker Germaine Pratt, but there are plenty of younger players […]
Pinpointing the amount of change on the defensive side of the ball for the Cincinnati Bengals is a tricky question to answer. New defensive coordinator Al Golden has free rein to recreate the unit in his image, which signifies the end for older veterans like linebacker Germaine Pratt, but there are plenty of younger players who can be given chances to prove themselves.
Safety Geno Stone could be in either bucket. 2025 will be his sixth year in the NFL and he underwhelmed for most of last season after signing a two-year, $15 million free agent contract with the team. He's also just 25 years young and finished 2024 much better than how he started.
Despite his future seemingly hanging in the balance, Stone himself sounds locked in to make this next season better than the previous.
Stone, who's fairly active on social media, took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to get out in front of the noise around his name. (Slight NSFW language below)
Stone referenced how the defense as a whole went through turmoil through the first 13 weeks of the season. The Bengals were a lowly 4-8 at the time and ranked 30th in EPA/play allowed. Pro Football Focus had Stone with the second-lowest defense grade (45.1) among starting safeties at the time. Cincinnati won five-straight games to close the season out with the seventh-best EPA/play allowed and Stone raising his grade to 72.9.
But as he mentioned, there are no excuses this time around. If he is to stick around for Golden's first year, he'll need to use the momentum he generated in the final month of the year when he hauled in three of his four interceptions on the year.
Stone being open about all this could indicate he's already had a conversation with Golden about his role on the team going forward. His two-year contract expires at the end of this next season, and the Bengals would save nearly $6.5 million in salary cap space by releasing him this offseason.
The path to move on is there. Stone is either hinting at him sticking around, or is getting his mind right for wherever he plays next season.
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