Bengals recreate the same finesse they pulled off a decade ago by signing safety Vonn Bell back
By letting Vonn Bell sign a free agent contract with the Carolina Panthers last year, the Bengals were set up to receive a compensatory draft pick for losing him the following year. By signing Bell back to the team just over a year after he left, the Bengals will get Bell's services for 2024, and […]
By letting Vonn Bell sign a free agent contract with the Carolina Panthers last year, the Bengals were set up to receive a compensatory draft pick for losing him the following year.
By signing Bell back to the team just over a year after he left, the Bengals will get Bell's services for 2024, and still get to keep the comp pick they recently received for letting him go. The pick is in the sixth round, 214th overall.
That is quite the finesse, and it's not the first time they've done this.
Bengals recreate a decade-old heist
10 years ago, the Bengals allowed edge defender Michael Johnson to leave in free agency. Johnson was the team's third-round pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, and established himself as a key member of the defense in the years that followed.
Johnson's best year came in 2012 when he recorded 11.5 sacks in the final year of his rookie deal. 11.5 was the exact number of sacks Johnson registered in his first three years in Cincinnati combined.
The Bengals opted to use the franchise tag on the lanky 6-7 Johnson to keep him around for one more year in 2013. He ended up returning to the mean with 3.5 sacks, all the while being a quality run defender in defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer's scheme.
Cincinnati wisely made Johnson prove his worth, and he made the front office's decision to move on from him easy in 2014. Johnson signed a five-year, $43,750,000 deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which was a big chunk of change at the time for the position. Johnson was a massive disappointment for the Bucs in his first season, and the club ended up releasing him just a year later.
The deal Johnson signed in 2014 netted the Bengals a third-round comp pick in 2015, and just days later, he signed back with the team on a four-year deal that was more affordable compared to the deal he signed with Tampa. Cincinnati got the player and comp pick all in 12 months time.
History now repeated itself, albeit on a smaller scale. Bell is only back for a season, and the 214th pick in the draft is massively different than a top-100 pick, but the Bengals ended up saving millions and got a draft pick in the process. They had to endure a nightmarish season on defense to get here, but they're here nonetheless.
We'll see if something similar happens in 2034.
Bengals bring back safety Vonn Bell almost exactly one year after watching him leave
Bell played three years for Cincinnati before leaving last free agency. He’s now back with the Bengals on a one-year deal.
