Grading the Cincinnati Bengals’ first week of free agency: Quality signings can’t overshadow an undeniable feeling
The Bengals made five notable moves during the first week of free agency, but left more work to do going forward.
It’s been exactly a week since the news of Bryan Cook agreed to terms with the Cincinnati Bengals, starting a week of free agency additions for the team with Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins all in the prime of their careers.
That detail is important when analyzing the Bengals’ moves and overall activity. Burrow said adding free agents this year was of “paramount importance” before the offseason officially began. It’s been three years since the club has won more than nine games or made the postseason. The clock is ticking for Cincinnati to right its ship, before the captains are no longer here to guide it.
Cook was a great start to the first week of free agency for the Bengals, and it was soon followed by a couple more commendable moves, but the feeling of wanting more is prevalent among Bengals fans as it is most years around this time. It’s why our grade for the first wave of signings is somewhere in the middle between glee and despair.
Grading the Bengals’ first week of free agency
- Signings: S Bryan Cook, DE Boye Mafe, DT Jonathan Allen, QB Josh Johnson
- Extensions: OT Orlando Brown Jr.
- Re-signings: None
- Notable needs remaining: LB, DE, NB
Grade: C+
Let’s start with the positives. Going from Geno Stone whiffing open-field tackles to Cook, one of the better defenders against the run at the safety position, should be an immediate upgrade and explosive plays should become less frequent. Cook is also great at diagnosing route concepts and can be trusted in both deep halves and as a post safety. Cincinnati found a legit stud at a previously major position of weakness.
Mafe is slated to take over for Trey Hendrickson and will have his work cut out filling those gigantic shoes that now walk for the Baltimore Ravens. He’s never had issues winning as a pass rusher, but sacks have evaded him for most of the last two years after he registered nine in 2023, the last year he was a full-time starter. The Bengals are betting on his sack production returning to that level now that he’s become a centrical figure along their defensive line. It’s a slight risk, but there’s enough reasons to believe it can pay off.
Allen is the most known commodity of the big three signings. He’s not quite the Pro Bowler he was at the start of the decade, but the Minnesota Vikings only cut him last week for financial reasons. He’s worthy of a featured role in-between the tackles and can generate disruption on all three downs. He may actually be the best interior defensive lineman on the roster now. Another quality move.
Cook, Mafe, and Allen are all major additions to a defense that needed better tacklers and pass rushers. Johnson brings needed experience behind Burrow as Joe Flacco surveys his dwindling options. Brown coming back for at least 2027 eliminates a premium position from being a pressing need until then.
I think all five of these moves, individually, deserve at least a B. The reason why the overall grade is lower is because of how they brought in those names, and the positions that didn’t get addressed.
Where the Bengals fell short in the first week of free agency
For starters, where in the world is the new linebacker?! There was arguably no worse position group on Cincinnati’s roster than the one sandwiched between an underwhelming defensive line and a mixed bag of defensive backs.
Barrett Carter and Demetrius Knight Jr. aren’t going anywhere, we knew that, but man do they need help beyond just playing more. Defensive coordinator Al Golden and director of player personnel Duke Tobin both verbalized this importance before the market opened. There were ample options to pursue and sign over the last seven days. There are still a handful of veterans who could help out the two starters on this defense who need it the most.
Crickets. Unexplainable crickets. That’ll knock the grade down.
Defensive end is still a need despite Mafe replacing Hendrickson as Joseph Ossai has also departed. There are snaps to be had that Shemar Stewart alone can’t fill, and even if he takes a needed leap in his second year, a trustworthy defense usually has four EDGEs it can rely on at any given moment. The Bengals also need more at nickelback aside from 30-year old Jalen Davis, who recently signed a one-year, $1.4 million extension.
The defense still has a “HELP WANTED” sign posted on its window, and we haven’t even touched on the offensive position groups like offensive line, tight end, and wide receiver, that could use further depth.
More signings were needed, plain and simple, and further additions could’ve been more easily fit under Cincy’s annually conservative salary cap if the contracts for Mafe and Cook were structured to lower their 2026 cap hits. Instead, the $17,000,000 and $10,666,666 cap figures for Mafe and Cook, respectively, are the largest relative to their Average Annual Values (AAV) than any other multi-year contract from last week.
Failing, again, to push large cap dollars into the future (where the cap is ALWAYS increasing outside of a pandemic) is a needless debilitation the Bengals places on themselves for the sake of ensuring any unlikely releases they conduct in future years penalizes them a little bit less. They don’t spend any more or less money doing this, but it makes it look like they’re spending closer to the cap.
It’s malarkey, and should be viewed as such when no other club remotely operates this way. It’s why despite five quality decisions made in seven days, you’re left wanting more heading into a season of dire significance.
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