Bengals show with their wallets how much they wanted to sign hidden gem the NFL forgot to draft
The Cincinnati Bengals are signing former San Diego State offensive tackle Christian Jones to a college free agent contract. Jones is receiving a $50,000 signing bonus, which indicates how much the Bengals wanted him.
The Cincinnati Bengals are up to a reported 10 undrafted free agent signings following the 2026 NFL Draft. Two offensive tackles are among the 10, including former San Diego State OT Christian Jones.
It’s easy to see why Jones caught the attention of Cincinnati. He’s 6-9, 349 pounds with 36.75″ arms and a 88.875″ wingspan. No other offensive lineman entering the NFL this year has his size. The Bengals roster the largest starting OT duo in Orlando Brown Jr. and Amarius Mims.
A perfect fit on paper. Cincinnati clearly thought so based on the contract Jones is signing.
Bengals give Christian Jones large signing bonus
Per KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson, the Bengals are including a $50,000 signing bonus in Jones’ three-year college free agent deal.
The standard UDFA deal is just a minimum three-year deal featuring the lowest possible salaries an NFL team can offer a player without any experience. There are no roster bonuses, per game bonuses, or incentives.
Signing bonuses are typically the only guaranteed money included in the deal. It’s the best way to attract players with options after the draft.
A signing bonus of $50,000 is quite a lot for Cincinnati. The largest bonus received by a Bengals UDFA last year was $30,000, which went to defensive tackle Eric Gregory.
Gregory went on to make the club’s initial 53-man roster. Is Jones on that same path?
Christian Jones can become Cincy’s new swing tackle
Linebacker may’ve been the most well-known need the Bengals did not address during the draft, but backup tackle was arguably just as pressing of a need. Cody Ford entered the draft as the main backup for both Brown and Mims, and he remains the guy after the draft.
Cincinnati drafted Connor Lew and Brian Patrick II on Day 3, and both are on track to playing between the tackles. Patrick has multi-positional versatility and played tackle in college, but his best positions in the NFL are likely guard and center.
The Bengals incentivizing Jones to sign with a large bonus validates his chances of competing for the role. No one who was drafted figures to be in his way, which made Cincy an attractive destination to potentially make a 53-man roster.
It’s hard to believe a lineman built like Jones went undrafted, but he’s going to the Bengals to legitimately push for a roster spot. It will be money well spent if he gets the job done.
