Bengals Roster Breakdown: Alex Cappa is the forgotten vet amongst an experienced offensive line

Throughout the summer leading up to the regular season, we will go through the entire 2024 Cincinnati Bengals roster. Every single day until the season opener against the New England Patriots, we will break down a player on the roster including his background, contract status, and path towards making the team.Today, we talk about the […]

John Sheeran — Cincinnati Bengals News Writer
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Alex Cappa
© Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Throughout the summer leading up to the regular season, we will go through the entire 2024 Cincinnati Bengals roster. Every single day until the season opener against the New England Patriots, we will break down a player on the roster including his background, contract status, and path towards making the team.

Today, we talk about the Bengals' offensive lineman that hardly gets any publicity. Right guard Alex Cappa isn't a towering offensive tackle like Orlando Brown Jr. or Trent Brown, and doesn't make Cincy hats like center Ted Karras, but he's just as important to keeping Cincinnati's offense afloat.

Alex Cappa

  • Age: 29
  • Year: 7th
  • Position: Right guard
  • College: Cal Poly Humboldt
  • Previous Teams: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
  • Jersey Number: 65

Cappa was drafted by the Buccaneers with the 94th overall pick in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft. He spent five years at Humboldt State (now known as Cal Poly Humboldt) and played in four of them after a redshirt season in 2013. As soon as he hit the field, domination was the result. He was named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Offensive Lineman of the Year…for four straight years. After the fourth time, he was finally nominated for the Gene Upshaw Award, which is given annually to the top Division II lineman in the country. Those accolades earned him a Senior Bowl invite where the NFL got a closer look at him, and the Bucs ended up using their third-round pick on him. 

Cappa earned the starting right guard job for Tampa as a second-year player in 2019, and maintained that role for the following two seasons. He started all 16 games and the Wild Card Round victory over the Washington Football Team in 2020, but sustained an ankle injury during the game and missed the Buccaneers' final push towards their second Super Bowl win in franchise history. He did play the entire 2021 season which ended with Tampa losing to the eventual Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams. We know who the Rams beat in that game. 

Cincinnati's Super Bowl defeat spurred the club to invest in the offensive line and it started with Cappa, quite literally. His agreement on a four-year contract with the Bengals was reported within the first few minutes of free agency legal tampering in 2022. Ted Karras and La'el Collins would soon follow, and the Bengals put together a protection unit that kept Joe Burrow upright for a second consecutive AFC North title. Cappa's 71.4 pass blocking grade from Pro Football Focus was a career-high for him, and the highest the team had gotten from a starting guard since Clint Boling four years prior. Unfortunately, Cappa and Collins both missed the postseason with injury and the season was stopped short in the AFC Championship game. 

Cappa returned for a full 2023 season, but his production took a bit of a dip. He allowed 15 more pressures and was penalized more often despite playing 20 fewer snaps than he did in 2022. His clean sheets were countered by rough outings, including his worst game of the season against his now teammate Sheldon Rankins and the Houston Texans. The ability is still there for the veteran, but the inconsistency is something to monitor with him pushing 30.

Contract details

Cappa is in the third year of the four-year, $35 million contract extension he signed in 2022. He will earn a base salary of $6 million for the 2024 season. He's already earned $500,000 from a workout bonus. He can also earn up to $5000,000 in per game roster bonuses.

Due to $2.25 million of his signing bonus being prorated on the books for this year, Cappa's cap number for the season will be $9.25 million.

Roster outlook

As the second half of his contract ensues, Cappa is an interesting veteran to monitor in Cincinnati. The drop-off in his tape last year warrants at least minor concern. That he's another year older with a history of minor injuries taking him out of the most important games on the schedule is just another variable to consider.

Despite all of that, Cappa did put together a full year in 2023. If the Bengals can get that durability combined with a bounce-back season, they'll be more than comfortable with him to finish out his deal.

Projected role: Starting right guard

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