The Cincinnati Bengals‘ offensive line is under a microscope for how they performed last year but the organization has made improvements to the unit. That being said, Morgan Moses is still available in free agency and this move makes all the sense in the world for the Bengals.
Moses spent the first seven years of his career with Washington and after they failed to find a trade partner for him, he became a free agent. He’s still waiting to sign with a team and the Bengals would be an excellent fit for his services.
As Stripe Hype’s own Justin Fried mentioned when Moses was on the trade block,
"Moses wouldn’t be a long-term option as the veteran tackle is already 30-years-old and will be entering the penultimate year of his contract in 2021. But his play over the last few seasons makes him worth the gamble."
This needs to be reiterated because no one is thinking that Moses would be the long-term solution. Rather, he gives the team stability in an area that needs as much help as possible. If the Bengals brought him in, Moses could either kick inside to guard as Clemson rookie Jackson Carman is expected to do, or he could play right tackle and Riley Reiff could play guard instead. Either way, someone is going to have to change positions.
The Cincinnati Bengals still have time to sign Morgan Moses.
Glenn Adams of Stripe Hype pointed out that Bengals fans were confident in the offensive line until Moses became available.
"If the Bengals were to pursue Moses, Reiff could just slide in at guard. The problem there is that he has only played left tackle, so perhaps Moses could play guard instead but now we are getting into even more speculation. This is already the case with Reiff playing right tackle and Jackson Carman moving to right guard — We have not seen them do it."
Adams makes good points here for sure, as the Bengals are really gambling on these players being able to step into their new roles with few issues. Carman and Reiff are already being asked to play new positions and if Moses were to come in, it could make things even more troubling in that department.
Be that as it may, the Bengals need as much depth as possible for their offensive line and there’s no arguing that Moses is a better option than Quinton Spain, who is likely to win the starting right guard job. If the Bengals feel that Moses can give them another much-needed boost along their o-line, then they should go out and get him.
The Bengals can only go as far as Joe Burrow can take them and it’ll be hard for him to win many games if he’s lying on his back most of the time. Morgan Moses is an experienced offensive lineman who has proven he’s durable (he hasn’t missed a start since taking over at right tackle in 2015) and allowed just five sacks last year per Pro Football Focus.
Morgan Moses would most definitely be worth the gamble for the Cincinnati Bengals.