The Cincinnati Bengals attacked most of their weaknesses in free agency and the draft, but there are inexpensive free agents remaining who could bolster the roster.
Following a relatively disappointing season last year, the Bengals wisely recognized several of the major flaws on the roster. With Joe Burrow entering year two of his rookie contract, the Bengals’ championship window is beginning to open, and the roster must be ready to complement a healthy Burrow.
Already, the team has added significant upgrades at positions of weakness. The offensive line has struggled mightily (something Bengals fans are already painfully aware of), but the front office replaced offensive line coach Jim Turner with the highly respected Frank Pollack, signed veteran tackle Riley Reiff, and drafted three rookie linemen headlined by Clemson tackle Jackson Carman.
The defensive line was a significant focus of both free agency and the draft, which was essential after star pass rusher Carl Lawson departed for the Jets in the offseason. Not to neglect the secondary, the Bengals also added an infusion of veteran talent with cornerbacks Chidobe Awuzie and Mike Hilton and safety Ricardo Allen.
After patching the largest holes on the roster, I have cautious optimism for this season. However, the roster must be deep beyond just the starters, and the Bengals could stand to solidify their depth with respected veterans.
The free-agent market still has quality players, especially with some big names remaining unsigned. Richard Sherman, Mitchell Schwartz, and Melvin Ingram, among others, are names even casual fans would recognize.
Though the Bengals would love to have some of these seasoned veterans join the roster, it is extremely unlikely that the Bengals would be the ideal landing spot for these players, likely looking to contribute to a contender with a significant salary.
Here, I identify five free agents who may be flying under the radar for most teams. Even though they would likely sign for a veteran minimum contract, the Bengals could still derive some value by firming up the remaining weak spots on the roster. Let’s start with the offensive line.
Free Agents Bengals Could Sign for Minimum
Kelechi Osemele, OG, Kansas City Chiefs
Like some of the top remaining free agent linemen, such as Schwartz, David DeCastro, or Russell Okung, Kelechi Osemele has also once been recognized as one of the top players at his position, earning First-Team All-Pro honors in 2016 with the Raiders.
Since then, Osemele has struggled with injuries, culminating in just a five-game season with the Chiefs last season that ended in him tearing tendons in both his legs.
Though Osemele has not regained that All-Pro form in the half-decade since his award, he showed flashes of his old self last season. Following several opt-outs from the Chiefs’ offensive line, Osemele was thrust into a starting role in Week 1, but helped pave the way for rookie running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire to have a massive debut.
In just those five games, Osemele generated nearly the same AV as he did in eleven games in his last season with the Raiders. Once Osemele went down—unfortunately, against his old team in the Raiders—the Chiefs lost their only game of the season in which they played to win. The lack of offensive line stability was also a major factor in the Chiefs’ Super Bowl loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, something Osemele could have helped with immensely.
For that reason, it would not be surprising to see the Chiefs try to re-sign Osemele as a depth piece for another hopeful Super Bowl run. However, Osemele would certainly not be a starter, as the Chiefs will not only return opt-outs such as Laurent Duvernay-Tardif and Lucas Niang, but they also spent significant money to lure Joe Thuney and Kyle Long in free agency.
Thus, if Osemele wants a clearer path to playing time, even coming off a significant injury, the Bengals could offer that as a swing guard who could flex out to tackle. Although Osemele has not played tackle since his first season in Baltimore, he could serve as an emergency option as well as a quality backup tackle.
Osemele would also cost much less than other high-level veteran free agents. While players like Schwartz and DeCastro will likely seek large one-year contracts, Osemele played last season for Kansas City on a one-year, $1.18 million deal. Coming off multiple knee injuries, his market should not balloon past that number.
Though the Bengals could likely scrape by this season without another veteran addition, someone like Osemele would solidify the inside and give the team another option in case of injury or poor play.
Free Agents Bengals Could Sign for Minimum
Trey Burton, TE, Indianapolis Colts
Fantasy football players (like me) struggled to find value in the Colts’ TE room as Trey Burton split reps with Jack Doyle and Mo Alie-Cox last season. Though Burton was never a reliable fantasy player, he did contribute to the Colts in the form of 28 catches for 250 yards and five touchdowns (three receiving, two rushing).
Following a breakout campaign in Philadelphia in 2017, Burton seemed like a rising star at tight end, offering the dynamic receiving ability stars like Travis Kelce and George Kittle do now. Unfortunately, once he signed with Chicago, Burton could never establish himself as a top-tier star and found himself back on the market after just two seasons with the Bears.
Certainly, the sheen of Burton’s star has worn off, but the value he can still add to a football team should not be diminished.
In his 2017 breakout season, Burton recorded 23 catches for 248 yards and five touchdowns—almost identical stats to his last season with the Colts (and in two more games in 2017). Importantly, Burton has not suffered any catastrophic injuries that would diminish his impressive athleticism either.
At 29 years old, Burton will not suddenly make another leap, but he is a solid complimentary piece at the tight end position. That kind of compliment is exactly what the Bengals lack in the tight end room.
C.J. Uzomah, the presumptive starter, had been carving out a nice role at the position, but Uzomah returns from a torn Achilles this season, so relying on him to maintain his athleticism would not be smart. In addition to Uzomah, Drew Sample is an adequate option at the tight end position, but he does not stretch defenses with speed or agility.
Burton could be the player in the Bengals’ tight end room that could stretch the field a bit more, playing a similar role to what he did in Indianapolis last season. Even after signing for the minimum with the Colts, Indy will likely move in a different direction given how Cox played to finish the year.
The Bengals could be the beneficiary of Burton’s return to the free-agent market if they wanted to make their receiving corps that much more dynamic.
Free Agents Bengals Could Sign for Minimum
Gareon Conley, CB, Houston Texans
Gareon Conley does not fall into the bucket of “reliable veteran additions” so much as he could be a flier to add to the roster before the season begins. The Bengals, as noted earlier in the article, added some veteran talent to the secondary this offseason, but the team has not invested a high draft pick on the cornerback position since selecting William Jackson, who walked this offseason.
Conley has lost the luster of being a first-round selection, but he was the Raiders’ first selection only four years ago in the 2017 NFL Draft. A dynamic athlete coming out of Ohio St., Conley has been up and down since entering the league, and his stint in Houston has never gotten off the ground, especially after missing the entire 2020 season with a nagging ankle injury.
With Houston declining Conley’s fifth-year option, they do not seem to be interested in retaining him this offseason. Given that the Franchise Formerly Known as Oakland and Houston have washed their hands of Conley so quickly, his market should not be particularly robust, either.
However, there is still some untapped upside in Conley’s game. Like with Burton, Conley has not suffered any injuries that would sap his impressive athleticism, and he will only be 26 years old this season. Furthermore, Conley has been up and down, which means he has had some solid moments. In the three seasons he has played, his PFF grade has never dipped below 60.
The Bengals made a very similar move last season by adding another former first-round Ohio State corner in Eli Apple, who was unspectacular but not disastrous in his brief Cincinnati tenure. Conley may have even more breakout potential than Apple and would be a good flier for the team to take if they want a potential talent infusion at cornerback.
There are certainly more veteran options on the market, such as Sherman, Steven Nelson, or Brian Poole, if the Bengals were willing to pay a bit more for a more reliable presence. However, as far as bargain reclamation projects go, there are not many more intriguing than Gareon Conley.
Free Agents Bengals Could Sign for Minimum
David Irving, DL, Las Vegas Raiders
David Irving, much like Conley, is an immense risk-reward addition to the team. In the last three seasons, Irving has played only four total games, including a stint on the COVID-19 list last season for the Raiders (not that the Bengals should only be targeting players off of the Raiders’ scrap heap, but they do seem to recur quite a bit).
The games Irving has not played may be more notable than the ones he has, as Irving was suspended the entire 2019 season for violating the NFL’s drug policy for marijuana. Irving subsequently announced he was quitting football in protest of the policy; although he has since returned to the sport, he does remain an outspoken advocate against the league’s stance on marijuana.
Though Irving has suffered some career turmoil, the absences he has had from the last three seasons have not really been injury-related. Much like I mentioned with Burton and Conley, Irving is an incredible athlete who has not suffered any injuries that would significantly hamper that athleticism.
When Irving was at his peak, he was a menace on the interior for the Dallas Cowboys, raising his star at the same time as Demarcus Lawrence burst onto the scene. He was incredibly efficient in 2016, recording four sacks and four forced fumbles while playing minimal snaps each game.
In 2017, in just eight games, Irving notched seven sacks before spraining his ankle. The Cowboys placed an impressive second-round tender on Irving as a restricted free agent following these two impressive seasons.
That dynamic interior player is still within Irving, and the Bengals desperately need that havoc on the interior. Although D.J. Reader and Tyler Shelvin will serve as excellent nose tackles for the team, the interior pass rush may be lacking. The Bengals made a great signing in Larry Ogunjobi, but Ogunjobi is not a certainty as a 3-tech, and the Bengals lack depth behind him.
Irving has played for the Raiders only on non-guaranteed minimum contracts, so his price point will be incredibly low. If the Bengals quickly realize Irving has lost his disruption ability, they can cut bait on him too. However, the risk-reward of signing Irving comes with the promise of some tantalizing potential as a pass-rush specialist on the interior.
As with the cornerback market, there are more reliable, more expensive veterans on the market still, such as Jurrell Casey and Kawann Short. Even Bengals legend Geno Atkins remains unsigned if the team wanted to bring him back. Irving, though not even remotely as certain an addition as these veterans, could offer the same upside for this Bengals’ defensive line.
Free Agents Bengals Could Sign for Minimum
Josh Bynes, LB, Cincinnati Bengals
A Bengals free agent finally makes this list as Josh Bynes surprisingly has not latched on with a new team. As a free agent addition in 2020, Bynes added critical stability to the linebacker room, starting every game for the Bengals as the younger players rotated into the lineup around him.
Though Bynes actually recorded the highest AV total of his career, that may have been more of an accumulation of reps as a starter than a reflection of a new level of play, unfortunately. PFF graded Bynes as having one of his worst seasons in recent years with a 52.6 grade last season. Still, despite having a relatively down season, Bynes solidified a linebacker room that was the weakness of the 2019 defense.
Coming into this season, the Bengals have not touched the position, relying on the talent they added the past two seasons. Considering the investment the team has made, that decision is not foolish, as internal development from Germaine Pratt, Logan Wilson, and Akeem Davis-Gaither should result in a solid positional group; plus, Jordan Evans will return for next season.
However, despite the talent continuing to improve, the position lacks veteran leadership of any kind (unless one counts Pratt as a third-year “veteran”). That was where Bynes made the most impact last season, coming into the team as a respected veteran and bringing leadership not just to the position, but the defensive unit as a whole.
The Bengals, then, should find more value in Bynes than most teams, knowing how useful that leadership was for the defense last season. Bynes will not cost the team dearly, as he signed for just $1.6 million last season and would likely not cost any more than that this season, given that he remains unsigned.
While many position groups on the Bengals need an overhaul, the linebacker group needs continuity. After floundering for multiple years, the Bengals have finally infused the room with good talent and should see improvement this year. Bynes could be the final piece to ensure the group continues to grow this year and maximizes the linebackers’ impact on the defense this season.
The Cincinnati Bengals could easily afford any of these free agents but will they pull the trigger on signing any of them?