One of the very first moves from 2022 NFL free agency featured the Cincinnati Bengals breaking precedent by signing Alex Cappa to a four-year, $35 million contract. The timing and value of the deal sent a clear message from an organization that never showed any aggression in attacking the guard position outside of rare moments in the NFL Draft.

Such an aggression is bound to be repeated this time next week, and the team's move to release Cappa after three seasons virtually confirms it. 

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Cappa is the second notable release the Bengals have made leading up to free agency, joining fellow 30-year old Sheldon Rankins who received his walking papers over a week ago. This list will continue to grow in the coming days and weeks with Sam Hubbard, Germaine Pratt, and potentially others to follow.

These moves aren't made for nothing. Cappa's splendid first season in Cincinnati was ended with a Week 18 ankle injury and he regressed massively the following two seasons. He went from arguably the line's most stable player to one its most glaring liabilities last year. That trajectory wasn't worth the $8 million in cash he was set to earn this upcoming season. The Bengals will save exactly that amount in cap space as well.

Still, Cappa was a starter for the past three years and developed much chemistry next to center Ted Karras, who agreed to terms with the Bengals about an hour after Cappa back in 2022. It's going to require a real swing to fill the void now that it's there, and that's what I expect to happen.

Bengals will look to sign a guard early in free agency

Perhaps the very first external free agent the Bengals add will be a guard to replace Cappa. They didn't mess around when signing him in the first place, and now that he's gone with no one under contract suited to take his place, the front office will be urged to move quickly before options dry up.  

This is not the team's typical process when handling this exact scenario. Despite Cappa clearly being expendable and the actuality of his release predictable, Cincinnati normally waits to add before subtracting. Did you know Andy Dalton wasn't released until after Joe Burrow was drafted first overall in 2020? Dre Kirkpatrick was cut after Trae Waynes agreed to terms the same year. Bobby Hart wasn't gone until Riley Reiff came to town in 2021. 

Finding the replacement before signing off on the release gave the Bengals a safety net, even if the net was hardly usable anymore. That net doesn't exist at the guard position anymore. 

The quality and depth of the market also plays a factor here. Trey Smith is off the board after receiving the franchise tag, but the Bengals were never going to swim in those waters. Will Fries, Teven Jenkins, and Mekhi Becton are closer to what they'll be looking for, but still likely above their budget. Kevin Zeitler, Brandon Scherff, Patrick Mekari, Will Hernandez, Aaron Banks, and Dalton Risner are all names to really watch for here, and they could go quick. The league has recently figured out how important guards have become.  

The Bengals won't just be signing a guard. Defensive line help on the edge and interior is desperately needed and either position will likely cost more than the new guard. Signing aDT, EDGE, and G could all happen within the first two days, and I wouldn't be surprised if any of them were to happen first.

Signing Cappa as early as they did was a smart move by the Bengals. It would be wise to replicate that process as much as possible next week.    

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