Stop us if you’ve heard this before: The Cincinnati Bengals are going to engage in a number of offseason moves to fix their defense.
While the defensive line appears to be the top priority, the back end of the unit could also use some additional talent and depth. Cincinnati has gushed about Jordan Battle’s development, but with the team seemingly moving on from Geno Stone this offseason, a veteran safety could bolster the group.
Names like Cam Curl and local product Bryan Cook are solid options, but a star not yet on the market could be in the Bengals’ sights. Should Minkah Fitzpatrick become available in free agency, Paul Dehner, Jr. of The Athletic and The Growler podcast believes he’d be a Cincinnati target.
At around the 12:00 mark of the episode, Dehner, Jr. notes Cincinnati’s past intrigue (a blend of both high respect and frustration) with Fitzpatrick—particularly in his six seasons with the Steelers—as a major reason for their potential interest. It’s just a matter of him hitting the open market, which seems like a foregone conclusion right now.
“When you’re talking about leadership, he’s maybe a little bit older (turns 30 years old in November), but you’re okay with that,” Dehner said. ”The Bengals’ staff have always kind of loved Minkah, in that they’ve hated to have to go against him…I mean, I think the idea of putting Minkah in there next to Jordan Battle has some legs.“
If Fitzpatrick were to sign with the Bengals, it would be up there in terms of one of the biggest outside free agent signings they have ever made. The star safety is trending towards a Hall of Fame career with five Pro Bowls and three First-Team All-Pro nods in his resume.
Ah, but the caveat(s).
“But, they wouldn’t be alone in that—there’ll be a bunch of teams that would obviously be interested in him, if and when he becomes a free agent,” Dehner, Jr. added. “But, I think there was some decent traction on that one, if it comes to that, which I think is a fun idea.”
Cincinnati’s last big splashes in outside free agency occurred in the 2020 and 2021 offseasons that netted names like Trey Hendrickson, Vonn Bell, Larry Ogunjobi, Eli Apple, and others who contributed to their fantastic two-year run in 2021-2022. However, big contract extensions to a number of offensive stars, coupled with their usual big-foray hesitancy has pulled that back a bit the past few years.
Fitzpatrick would not only provide immense talent and veteran leadership to a defense sorely needing it, but it would also provide draft flexibility. His ability to create turnovers (21 career interceptions and six forced fumbles) would also provide the offense with short fields to create more scoring opportunities.
What do you think about the Bengals pursuing Fitzpatrick if he becomes available?
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