3 players Cincinnati Bengals were wise to pass on in 2022 free agency

The Cincinnati Bengals have made some nice moves in free agency so far but let’s talk about the moves they didn’t make.

While the Bengals signing any of these free players we’re about to discuss would have been cool, for one reason or another, it’s probably for the best that they didn’t bring any of these guys to Cincinnati.

Let’s take a look at three players the Bengals passed on but probably made the right decision in doing so.

3. J.C. Jackson

It’d have been awesome to see the Bengals bring in J.C. Jackson, who was arguably the best cornerback available in free agency this year. Jackson somehow went undrafted and then played four years of great football in New England with the Patriots.

When the Patriots didn’t franchise tag Jackson, it became clear that he’d be a very popular name in free agency and that was precisely the case. The Chargers signed Jackson to an astounding five-year deal worth $82.5 million with a guaranteed amount of $40 million.

While Jackson might end up being worth that huge sum of money, the Bengals wouldn’t have been able to afford to do much else with their roster if they signed the cornerback for that amount. Eli Apple isn’t anywhere close to the kind of player that Jackson is, but he’s solid and they got him for a bargain.

Maybe they find a corner to pair with Chidobe Awuzie and Mike Hilton in the draft, maybe they sign Stephon Gilmore, or maybe they bring someone else in. At the end of the day though, not signing Jackson to an $82.5 million deal is probably for the best.