After a free agency period seen as largely unproductive for the Bengals, some players have taken to Twitter to voice their frustration.
The Bengals have had a rough go of it this offseason.
Andrew Whitworth and Kevin Zeitler walked, leaving one of the worst offensive lines in football in tatters. Domata Peko and Margus Hunt both found new teams. Adam Jones‘ future is up in the air with the current legal charges pending against him. Less significant role players like James Wright and Karlos Dansby also saw free agency end their time with the Black and Orange.
The exodus of talent for the second year in a row didn’t sit well with parts of the locker room. Some players took to Twitter to voice their concerns, including defensive end Carlos Dunlap and running back Giovani Bernard.
I don't see the plan but guess that's not my role to either.
— Carlos Dunlap (@Carlos_Dunlap) March 14, 2017
https://twitter.com/G_Bernard25/status/839937222694535168
Signings
To this point, the Bengals have made three signings to make up for these absences: Bene Benwikere, Andre Smith, and Kevin Minter.
Benwikere has been a little under-the-radar. A mainstay of the defensive unit that propelled Carolina to the Super Bowl just two years ago, he was cut from the team last year for performance reasons. While once infamously credited with allowing most of Julio Jones’ 300-yard game, at just 25-years-old, he’s still got time to improve with the other young CB’s on the Bengals roster.
Smith returns to Cincinnati for his second stint with the Bengals after a brief sabbatical with the Vikings. Among the top players on the line before his departure, the Bengals must be hoping to recapture some of the magic from what was one of the best lines in the league a few years ago.
Great job @Bengals on getting that deal done with big Dre. #nicework #whodey
— Dre Kirkpatrick (@DreKirkSWAG) March 14, 2017
It goes without saying, the players are happy with this deal.
Kevin Minter comes as the most recent Bengals move in free agency. A fifth-year pro from Arizona, he’s gotten better with each year in the league. He played well for the Cardinals last season. Kevin started all sixteen games for a defense that was among the best in the league. Minter immediately solidifies a position group at linebacker that was among the Bengals’ worst last year.
Next: Jeremy Hill to the Eagles?
It’s hard to know exactly what the front office is after this offseason. Are they conserving cap to resign some bigger free agents next year, most notably Tyler Eifert? Do they think Cincinnati’s young talent is ready to make the leap? Who knows. Now it’s time to wait and see.