There is some good, but not nearly enough for all the talk.
The Cincinnati Bengals aren’t known for blowing the doors off the hinges to get off to a fast start in free agency. However, it has still been a very frustrating free agency period so far.
The team has gotten deals done to bring back the likes of tight end Mike Gesecki, defensive tackle BJ Hill, and a couple of young defensive ends in Joseph Ossai and Cam Sample. The team went out and added defensive tackle DJ Slaton to improve a poor run defense and linebacker Oren Burks, who is a good tackler and also good in coverage.
The big issue isn’t the lack of splash. It is a lack of action keeping three of their most important players happy and locked in for the long term. The deals for Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins should have been done prior to free agency to clear space, and the team has also allowed Trey Hendrickson to seek a trade after leading the league in sacks as the team’s only threat as a pass rusher.
Having none of those deals done is glaring, especially after Joe Burrow told anyone who would listen that he wants to see those guys get contracts.
This is before we get into the fact that the guard position is still a huge issue, with it gearing up to be a competition between Cody Ford and Cordell Volson to start at left guard and still a TBD player at right guard. We saw a perfect illustration of needing to be able to protect your quarterback in the Super Bowl, but the Bengals are dragging their feet to protect their franchise.
It is far from a hot start, but they haven’t been inactive. What grade would you give the team?
And of course, Who Dey!!
