The Bengals have the sixth-largest amount of NFL salary cap space available, and that is likely to grow with the expected release of defensive tackle Geno Atkins and a handful of other potential cuts this spring.
According to OverTheCap.com, the Bengals have $34 million to work with. But that, of course, is only a guideline, not a budget, given the team’s philosophy of holding money back for draft picks, practice squad additions, injuries and other number of rainy-day maybes that may arise.
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While the needs are as plentiful, it’s doubtful we’ll see the Bengals spend the way they did in 2020, when they unloaded a franchise-record $126 million to be paid over four seasons to a record eight incoming free agents.
But there is an interesting variable in play with the expected decrease in the salary cap due to the pandemic. The possibility exists that upper-tier free agents could sign one-year, prove-it type of deals this season, banking that the cap will return closer to normal in 2022, at which point they can make another, more lucrative exploration of the market.
For now, however, we’ll center our focus on this year and who might be the best fits at the Bengals’ biggest areas of need when NFL free agency opens in March.
Free agency is always a moving target. Take yourself back to the early days of the pandemic and try to imagine what grocery stores would have been like had there not been set price tags but rather open bidding on toilet paper and hand sanitizer.
And some items (players) may not even make it to the shelf. The Athletic’s Sheil Kapadia just released his list of the Top 50 pending free agents, with the key word being “pending.” It will be interesting to look back at that list three months from now and see how many of those players re-sign with their teams before open bidding even begins.
Last year, Sheil ranked 100. And among his top 50, 26 returned to existing teams, including 17 of the top 25.
There’s also the issue of the ripple effect, where the best fit at one position may no longer be an option after a team drops a bunch of money on a player at another spot. So with all of that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the best possible fits for the Bengals:
Tackle
Trent Williams is by far the biggest prize available this year, but the eight-time Pro Bowler will be 33 in August, likely will command around $20 million per year and has a track record of playing hardball in contract dealings. That led to him fighting his way out of Washington this past season.
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But it’s not as though the Bengals won’t be willing to spend big at the position. Tackle is maybe the most likely position for the Bengals to find a willing partner to agree to a high-priced, one-year salary, especially if they are intent on addressing the position early in the draft for a longer-term option.
Ideal fit: Taylor Moton, Panthers
The 2017 second-round pick has never missed a game and has started 48 in a row for the Panthers. As snug of a fit as he may seem in Cincinnati, the Bengals might never get a chance to take a run at him as The Athletic’s Joe Person writes that Moton is the No. 1 priority among the Panthers’ 21 free agents this offseason (and the second-ranked tackle and 18th-ranked overall player on Sheil’s league-wide list).
Each of Carolina’s top three tackles (with Russell Okung and Trent Scott behind Moton) are free agents, making it even more unlikely the Panthers let Moton get away. But if they do, the Bengals should be ready to pounce.
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Backup option: Daryl Williams, Bills
No. 1 on the Bengals’ woulda-coulda-should list of laments is Williams, who signed a one-year, $2.3 million deal with the Bills last year after moving on from the Panthers. Do you think they would have been better off with Williams at $2.3 million vs. Bobby Hart at $6.8 million?
PFF graded Williams 21st among 79 tackles in 2020. He primarily has been a right tackle during his six seasons, although he started the final six games of 2019 at left guard for the Panthers. That only makes him more attractive for the Bengals, who value versatility and are in obvious need of help across the line.
Guard
The Bengals have never valued the guard position the way other franchises do. But at this time last year we were saying the Bengals have never spent in free agency the way other teams do and wham, they went on a $126 million spending spree. So when need marries with available resources, not to mention a new offensive line coach, maybe we will see the Bengals invest more at guard than they have in the past.
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Ideal fit: Joe Thuney, Patriots
Brandon Scherff, the No. 5 overall pick in 2015 and a first team All-Pro in 2020, is regarded as the best guard in this year’s free agent class, but where Thuney has the edge is with his postseason experience — 10 games, including three consecutive Super Bowls (and two titles) to begin his career. Thuney also has never missed a game, while Scherff hasn’t played a 16-game season since 2016.
Scherff will be a little more expensive, which also plays into Thuney being the better fit. And his southwest Ohio roots as a Dayton native who played at Kettering Alter High School could be a tiebreaker if another team is making a comparable offer.
![Joe Thuney](https://cdn.theathletic.com/app/uploads/2021/01/19165048/Joe-Thuney-scaled.jpg)
Backup option: Matt Feiler, Steelers
If the Bengals land a tackle in free agency first and it’s one of the big prizes, it’s hard to envision them splurging at guard too. Feiler is a much cheaper option who is a solid player, but as The Athletic’s Mark Kaboly writes, he just doesn’t fit the balance sheet for the cash-strapped Steelers.
Feiler has started 39 games for the Steelers the last three years, including 26 at right tackle in 2018-19 and 13 last year at left guard. His versatility coupled with an affordable price tag (around $5.5 million per year) and knowledge of AFC North defenses would make him an ideal Plan B.
Wide receiver
A.J. Green and John Ross are assuredly finished in Cincinnati, and Alex Erickson and Mike Thomas might be as they also head into free agency. That’s four of the planned top seven receivers from the start of 2020. It remains one of the team’s most talented position groups with Tyler Boyd, arguable the best slot receiver in the league, and the emerging Tee Higgins. Even if the plan is to reunite Joe Burrow with his favorite deep threat from LSU in Ja’Marr Chase, adding another veteran to the room is a priority with Auden Tate the only other receiver under contract with more than three career catches.
Ideal fit: Josh Reynolds, Rams
It makes way too much sense for this to not be one of the moves the Bengals should make this offseason.
The Rams have cap issues and can’t afford the luxury of re-signing Reynolds with the amount of money due Cooper Kupp ($14.5 million) and Robert Woods ($13.9 million). And because both this year’s free agent class and draft class are deep and full of high-end receiver talent (they make up three of Pro Football Focus’ top four free agents and four of the top 11), Reynolds is a candidate for the bargain bin after setting career highs in receptions (52) and receiving yards (618) in 2020.
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Reynolds has never missed a game in four seasons. He’s a dynamic deep threat and he’s appeared in six postseason games, including Super Bowl LIII. Zac Taylor was the Rams’ assistant wide receiver coach in 2017 when the team drafted Reynolds in the fourth round, and that connection is just one more reason this would be an ideal fit.
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Backup option: Breshad Perriman, Jets
A 2016 first-round pick, Perriman had two disappointing seasons in Baltimore due to injury and confidence issues and another down year in Cleveland before seemingly putting things together with the Buccaneers in 2019, when he set career highs in catches (36), yards (645) and touchdowns (six) while finishing fifth in the league in yards per catch (17.9).
Perriman’s numbers dipped in 2020 while playing for a Jets team that ranked 32nd in total offense and 31st in pass offense. The Athletic’s Connor Hughes writes that he is unlikely to be a player the team tries to re-sign.
Perriman continues to be a top deep threat, finishing fifth in yards per catch (16.8) for the second year in a row. There still seems to be a lot of untapped talent with Perriman, and like Reynolds, he should be relatively inexpensive among a crowded receiver group.
Defensive tackle
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The interior defensive line looked nothing like the Bengals envisioned from mid-October until the end of the season. D.J. Reader, the prize piece of the most expensive free agent class in franchise history, suffered a season-ending quad injury in Week 5. Renell Wren, a 2019 fourth-round pick, went down early in training camp. Josh Tupou never even made it to the starting line, opting out due to the pandemic.
What followed was a mishmash of Christian Covington, Mike Daniels, Xavier Williams, Margus Hunt and Kahlil McKenzie, all of whom are heading into free agency.
The Bengals need to get better and younger on the interior of the defensive line.
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Ideal fit: Shelby Harris, Broncos
Things didn’t end well the last time the Bengals tried to a woo a free agent pass rusher from the Broncos, but maybe they can right the Shaq Barnett wrong this offseason with Harris, who is coming off a second consecutive solid season just in time to hit the market.
The 2014 seventh-round pick is the best 3-technique available in free agency, and while he doesn’t fully fill the need of adding youth at the position since he’ll turn 30 in August, Harris is a little younger and lot cheaper than the soon-to-be 33-year-old Atkins. PFF has Harris’ market value listed at $11 million per year, which might price him out of range for the Bengals depending on which offensive linemen they sign.
He suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 16, but there was a question of whether it was severe enough to require surgery. Harris (6-2, 290) had six sacks and 28 pressures in 2019, and three sacks and 27 pressures in 11 games this past season. His seven pass knockdowns also led all NFL defensive linemen, and his 16 passes defended since 2019 are a league high and five more than runner-up Carlos Dunlap.
Backup option: Adam Butler, Patriots
After going undrafted out of Vanderbilt in 2017, Butler has put up consistently good numbers in four years with the Patriots. He’s had at least four sacks, with a career high of eight in 2019, and at least 26 pressures each season.
The Patriots re-signed Butler as a restricted free agent last year, but he is scheduled to hit unrestricted free agency next month. The 6-5, 300-pound Butler will turn 27 in April, so pairing him with a draft pick would serve the purpose of making the interior defensive line younger.
Edge
With the Bengals finishing last in sacks, last in pressures and 26th in quarterback hits, the search for a quality edge rusher is only a tick less important than shoring up the offensive line. Re-signing Carl Lawson and extending Sam Hubbard should be priorities this offseason. But there still will be a need to either sign or draft – or both – more help off the edge.
Ideal fit: Aldon Smith, Cowboys
The ideal option would be Super Bowl star Shaquil Barrett, whom the Bengals could have had for a whole lot cheaper in 2018 than what he’ll cost this year. But that’s unrealistic. Knowing how much help the team needs elsewhere, you have to temper expectations here, which is why Smith is such an ideal fit.
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The No. 7 overall pick in 2011, Smith has authored one of the more remarkable comeback tales the league has seen after being suspended from 2016-2019 due the personal conduct and substance abuse policies. Smith started all 16 games while playing 69 percent of the team’s snaps.
While he finished with just four sacks, Smith had 50 pressures according to PFF. He’ll turn 32 after the season begins, and while his past transgressions make him a risk, they also could provide great value with Smith likely looking at about $7 million per year as opposed to Barrett, who is expected to net more than double that.
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Backup option: Haason Reddick, Cardinals
After three years of being crammed into a traditional linebacker role and struggling because of the uncomfortable fit, Reddick returned to his college position in 2020 and excelled with 12.5 sacks on 55 pressures. He had only registered 7.5 sacks in his first three seasons, and the Cardinals declined the fifth-year option on the 13th overall pick from the 2017 draft.
His price tag is going to grow at rate commensurate with his production, but he could be one of those players willing to bet on himself with a one-year, prove-it type of deal with a chance to enter 2022 free agency as a top target.
Slot corner
With Mackensie Alexander likely one-and-done, the Bengals will be back in the market for a slot corner again this offseason. Darius Phillips has shown he can play both outside and in the slot, but his size and durability remain too much of a question for the Bengals not to get another starting slot corner for about the same $4 million price they paid Alexander.
Ideal fit: Mike Hilton, Steelers
He does everything well, from covering to blitzing to stopping the run, and he’s done it all almost exclusively from the slot since the Steelers signed him as undrafted free agent in 2017. Hilton had a career-high three interceptions last year along with two fumble recoveries despite missing four games with a shoulder injury.
The Bengals should be able to get Hilton for about the same price they paid Alexander. And like Alexander, Hilton has been one of the league’s top run-stopping corners, according to PFF.
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Backup option: Troy Hill, Rams
The majority of Bengals fans probably don’t even remember Hill. Signed as undrafted free agent in 2015, Hill found himself in a crowded and talented cornerback room. When the Bengals released him in December, the Patriots claimed him. A week later, the Rams claimed him, and Hill has played 70 games with 39 starts for Sean McVay since.
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Taylor was on the Rams staff for two of Hill’s five seasons in LA. Hill had a career-high three interceptions in 2020, two of which he returned for touchdowns. Primarily an outside corner, Hill played almost exclusively in the slot in 2020. His asking price should be right in line with Hilton’s, but The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue writes that Hill could be a player the Rams target for a return.
(Top photo of Moton: Steve Limentani / ISI Photos/ Getty Images)