Franchise tag complications, going all in, and other answers to Cincinnati Bengals offseason questions
Did you hear about this being the most important offseason in Cincinnati Bengals history? Arguing against it may not be worth your time. On one hand, it's been said in each of the past two years following deep postseason runs. On the other hand, this is the fifth year head coach Zac Taylor and quarterback […]
Did you hear about this being the most important offseason in Cincinnati Bengals history? Arguing against it may not be worth your time.
On one hand, it's been said in each of the past two years following deep postseason runs. On the other hand, this is the fifth year head coach Zac Taylor and quarterback Joe Burrow will be together. There's never been a first Super Bowl victory for a HC-QB combination that's existed beyond five years. That's pressure that can't be ignored.
You have questions about these next few months, and I have some insight that can pass as answers. Let's get right to it.
"In your estimation, what should be the top 3-5 things of importance the Bengals need to address this offseason? Feel free to rank them if you wish." – @MrEd315
Tough to rank them, but I think they can all be condensed into three tasks, arranged in the order that Madden taught us to examine rosters and depth charts by:
– Get quicker on offense
– Get quicker rushing the passer
– Figure out what the secondary is
Continuing to add playmakers with ability to create yards on their own, and inputing any sort of juice to the offensive line is important for the offense taking the next step. Both would result in a boost to pass protection, as well as indirectly and directly enhancing the run game. Notice how this general goal hasn't really changed over the past year.
The quickest way to disrupt the quarterback is by blowing up his protection from the inside. Finding explosion at the 3-technique spot while still making sure the A-gaps are taken care of is a must.
When the pass rush can't get home in three seconds, fielding a defensive backfield with all the pieces in the right place is crucial to prevent an abundance of explosive plays. Get everyone on the same page, and figure out where the Michigan dudes, Dax Hill and DJ Turner II, need to play. Worst case is they have a long-term slot defender or two.
"Will the Bengals go 'all-in' this off-season? Or even a Bengals hybrid version of 'all-in.'" – @WhoDeyKnowitALL
Using all of their cap space, enlarging future cap hits by restructuring deals, trading draft picks for players, and drafting purely for need would have me convinced the Bengals were overtaken by these aliens the news keeps bringing up. Aliens that first had a night out with Mickey Loomis, of course.
I'm not even sure what a Bengals hybrid version looks like. Conserving only $5m in space instead of $10m+? Trading for players via pick swaps? Trading up one or two spots in the first round? These all are normalized around the league, and around here it'd be one giant leap for the Browns and Blackburns.
I've never had a problem with them avoiding most of these practices by habit, but being flexible with your philosophies can sometimes actually help you in the long run. Maybe we see them bend just a tiny bit as Joe Burrow's career progresses.
"What can realistically be done in Free Agency to make you feel very confident before the draft?" – @GovnaChief
Tee Higgins receiving the franchise tag, and Nick Scott and Joe Mixon getting released will have the Bengals with about $45 million in salary cap space—find out yourself with the help of Over The Cap.
They won't use all of that $45m, they never do, and cash spending is the real number to track anyways. You can expect the Bengals to spend up to the league-wide salary cap for the year, but not much over. This year's cap is projected to be $242.5m. Following the expected moves with Higgins, Scott, and Mixon, they'd be expected to spend somewhere in the ballpark of $45m in cash. What a coincidence.
That's a handful of starters for sure. Not any that will reset their positional markets, but the invest-at-the-right-time players they found from 2020-22? Absolutely.
Running back, tight end, a placeholder right tackle, one or two quality defensive tackles, and maybe a safety. If most of those spots are filled, the draft is looking pretty good.
"As most assume/know, they will tag Tee [Higgins] without trading him. Do you think that makes sense or should they rather tag and trade him and rather upgrade other parts of the team?" – @chrisflagge
Higgins really is the ideal tag candidate. He's established himself as a player who'd make a higher Average Annual Value than the tag is worth if he entered the open market, but there's also just enough risk in him not living up to that long-term AAV.
I think the tag makes perfect sense. If Higgins stays healthy, he's very much worth the $21m price tag for the year, and the Bengals are best equipped to go all the way. If he replicates his 2023 campaign in 2024, the Bengals aren't committed to seeing him do it a third time in 2025.
Fans have wanted the team to go all-in (see the previous question above) but making proactive moves for the betterment of the team certainly isn't an unpopular take. When it comes to Higgins, the compromise between the two is keeping him on the tag. I'm not even fully against the tag-and-trade option with Higgins, but my qualm with it lies with the question below.
"Is there any concern around tagging Tee allocating $21m in cap space to him, missing free agent signings, and then trading him and opening the cap up before the draft after the ‘good’ free agents are signed?" – @mullen_sam
This matters more than it's been talked about. The only way a tag-and-trade makes sense is if it happens before free agency begins so they not only regain the cap space they had prior to the tag, but also gain draft capital and/or a new player in the process.
Right now, I don't think the Bengals would even trade Higgins if they didn't get a first-round pick in return. A recent poll I had over 1,000 Bengals fans vote on would also agree with me.
I have trouble understanding why a team would trade a top-32 pick for Higgins so early in the offseason. He would have a robust market if he was allowed to enter free agency, but giving up a first several weeks before an extremely talented class of receivers are about to be drafted would be surprising. As good as Higgins is, he's not who Davante Adams was when Adams got the Green Bay Packers a first and second-round pick pick 10 days after the 2022 franchise tag deadline.
If a club fails to land a receiver they covet in the first 20-40 picks, a phone call to the Bengals for Higgins seems very plausible then. But like our pal Sam pointed out, that's long after they could've wisely used the cap space. I think Higgins will be on the Bengals' roster after the draft is over for this reason.
"I am presuming Jonah [Williams] is gone. He doesn't want to be here, doesn't want to play on the right side. So, do we have a shot to pick up the starting RT for the Raiders [Jermaine Eluemunor] in free agency? He seems like a moderate upgrade over Jonah." – @TJ_Jackson_RF
It's a fair presumption. A fresh start could do Williams some good, and the Bengals will have a good chance of drafting another first-round tackle with a higher ceiling than he ever had. The perfect scenario would have the Bengals signing an Eluemunor-like right tackle to a one-year deal and drafting a legitimate future replacement for him.
If the Bengals go with just Eluemunor, I think he would give them similar production for a fraction of the cost of what Williams will sign for, at least in terms of AAV. That surplus in value is good, but it wouldn't be more than a marginal upgrade at best.
As far as them having a shot to sign him, Eluemunor's done his very best to pander towards the entire Bengals fanbase and organization. I'd say they have as good a shot as any interested club.
"Will Jermaine Eluemunor beat the time it took for the [Ted] Karras and [Alex] Cappa signings to be confirmed in free agency? Who will tweet the signing first: [Ian] Rapoport, [Adam Schefter], or Jermaine himself?" – @JimmehD
I remember I was in my kitchen at 12:00 pm the day legal tampering began in 2022. I think the first notification from Adam Schefter was Joseph Noteboom re-signing with the Los Angeles Rams. The second was Cappa signing with the Bengals at 12:01 pm.
That's not getting beat by Eluemunor because Eluemunor is not the type of player teams illegally negotiate with prior to legal tampering. He's the kind that waits at least a few days to see where the market is at, which teams are still looking, and a one-year offer finds his agent's inbox.
And that's fine; you need some of those players. He's certainly a name to remember in March, but maybe not during the first 60 seconds of free agency.
"Given the scenario that Tee [Higgins] and DJ [Reader] walk in FA, build your wildest roster." – @My33263705
Using Paul Dehner Jr.'s mock offseason tool, how's Derrick Henry at running back, Antoine Winfield at safety, Chris Jones at defensive tackle, Gerald Everett at tight end, and Bobby Hart back at right tackle sound for wild?
"Outside of Logan Wilson, do you think the Bengals look to change up (dare I say upgrade) their linebackers or stick with [Germaine] Pratt and the status quo (re-signing [Akeem Davis-Gaither] and/or [Markus] Bailey)?" – @TeethVanHorn
Nah, no major changes here. I expect Davis-Gaither to pursue an opportunity elsewhere and would be surprised to see none available for him. I was also surprised to see Pratt return last year (most were as well), so there's that. Bailey should be coming back on a deal meant for special teams.
Once the secondary rounds into shape, Wilson and Pratt will start looking like the versions of themselves that got them paid in the first place. Too much chaos around them last year did not help.
"What unknown player would you want the Bengals to trade for or sign in free agency!" – @JAKEAKAJ24
Maybe not a complete unknown, but keep in mind Teair Tart would've already been a Bengal had they were higher in the waiver order. He had arguably his best game of 2023 against Cincinnati when he was with the Tennessee Titans, a team that's consistently made life hard on the Bengals' offensive line for the past two years.
Replacing Reader with a disruptive nose tackle who turns 27 this year sounds like a solid plan.
"If the Bengals were a type of pie right now, what kind of pie would the be? Once free agency and the draft is over, what kind of upgraded pie would they be?" – @GovnaChief
I'm gonna assume Govna asked the first question earlier and Chief is hitting me with this one. Any pie that's not apple, pumpkin, or banana cream is just okay to me. Those three are the best. Maybe I'm forgetting one more, but I don't care too much about the dessert in general. I've never had sweet potato pie but it also sounds delectable.
If you're still reading all the way down here, I'll just go ahead and call this current Bengals team cherry pie for being not good enough.
Bengals are on track to boldly attack area of weakness
Predicting how the Bengals will attack the offseason.
