3 former Bengals that will thrive with different teams in 2022

2. Giovani Bernard

Giovani Bernard will always be remembered as a Cincinnati Bengal, no matter how many years he continues to play elsewhere. For now, he remains a part of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers; he signed a one-year deal to remain in Tampa Bay this offseason.

As long as Tom Brady is playing in the NFL, a running back teammate of his will always be relevant for their role in the passing game; James White and Dion Lewis made careers out of this role. In 2021, Bernard proved he had enough left in the tank to be an option in Brady’s attack.

In the 2021 season, Bernard appeared in 12 games. In those games, Bernard tallied eight carries for 58 yards (7.3 yards per carry), and 23 receptions for 123 yards (5.3 yards per reception). While all those statistics are career lows for him, Bernard knew what is role was going to be when he signed with the Buccaneers; he was coming into Tampa Bay to be a veteran presence and provide a spark plug when needed.

Bernard’s role may not see a drastic increase in 2022, but there are touches up for grabs in that backfield. Ronald Jones II saw 111 touches last season in Tampa Bay and he signed with the Kansas City Chiefs this offseason. Leonard Fournette did see a massive increase in the passing game last season, but that shouldn’t worry Bernard.

Brady uses the running back in the passing game on all three downs. Expect Bernard to be the third-down specialist for the Buccaneers next season.