5 free agents that could bolster Cincinnati Bengals defense in 2022

2. Chandler Jones, EDGE

One glaring weakness for the Bengals is their pass rush, at least outside of Trey Hendrickson, who has been worth every penny the team paid him in the offseason. Adding Chandler Jones would definitely shore up the Bengals’ pass rush and while he’ll be one of the most coveted free agents on the market, a few things could work in Cincinnati’s favor.

One, Jones is nearing the end of his prime. He turns 32 in February and that’s not exactly a prime age to sign pass rushers. The second is that since his explosive Week 1 outing where he had five sacks on Ryan Tannehill of the Titans, Jones has had just one sack. He still has six on the year but he’s cooled off since that hot start, bringing his value down a bit as well.

The Bengals need a pass-rusher opposite of Hendrickson and it’s a lot of fun to imagine what Jones could do for this team. Spotrac’s market value for him is three years worth $46 million, which is reasonable considering what I mentioned above.

If Cincinnati added Jones on defense, their pass rush would no longer be an issue.