3 likely salary cap cuts who should be on the Cincinnati Bengals’ radar before free agency arrives
The free agent market will be adding new names before long. Here are a few that should intrigue the Bengals.
However large you think this year’s crop of free agents is, it will indeed be larger by the time Mar. 11 comes around when the 2026 league year officially begins.
Salary cap casualties are upon us. They’ve really already begun thanks to the Miami Dolphins beginning to clean house last week. More will hit the wire before every other free agent gets a crack at the market.
The Athletic recently released a list of one potential cap causality for every team, and three stand out as logical targets for the Cincinnati Bengals.
Buffalo Bills WR Curtis Samuel
A wide receiver? Yes, a slot receiver to be more precise. The Bengals have arguably the best wideout duo in the league with Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins bookending the perimeter, and Mitchell Tinsley is a great backup for each of them out wide. In the slot is where they could use depth, or even someone to push starter Andrei Iosivas.
Curtis Samuel would be the new elder in the position room and a couple years removed from his last season with at least 500 receiving yards. His fall-off in production and injury concerns are why he’s considered a possible cut candidate, but if the Bengals can maximize production out of their own receivers, who’s to say they can’t get the most out of a veteran who’s done it before? This would be a solid low-risk, moderate-reward transaction.
Dallas Cowboys S Malik Hooker
It’s already going to be a saturated market for safeties, which is why Cincinnati may be able to swing a trade for Dolphins S Minkah Fitzpatrick, but Malik Hooker could be another one to hit free agency. Dallas has a new defensive coordinator in town after its defense had an even more disastrous 2025 compared to the Bengals.
Hooker has not been the best in coverage over the past two seasons, but he’s a much better tackler than Geno Stone at this point in his career. He’d be an enticing second or third wave option if the market doesn’t shake out the way Cincinnati desires, and his signing would not prevent the Bengals from drafting Caleb Downs or other top safeties from the 2026 NFL Draft.
Green Bay Packers EDGE Rashan Gary
Okay enough with the former Ohio State Buckeyes for a second, there’s a Michigan Wolverine who could be on the loose as well. Rashan Gary put pen-to-paper on a four-year extension back in 2023, and his pass rushing productivity has decreased since then.
“I would be surprised if Gary is on the team next season. I’ll put it like that. According to [OverTheCap.com], his cap number of approximately $28 million is the second highest on the team behind quarterback Jordan Love. Gary is making too much money to be producing as little as he did in the second half of last season. Releasing him would free up about $11 million in cap space for a team that needs more space. The Packers might first ask Gary to take a pay cut, but he’s well within his rights to tell them to kick rocks and try to sign a better deal elsewhere.” — The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman
Gary played under current Bengals defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery for the first five years of his career, the years that earned him his current contract. Reuniting with one of his former coaches may be an advantage Cincinnati can use to reel in the former first-round pick should he become available.
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