3 free agents who could start for the Bengals right away

2. Rob Gronkowski

This one is unlikely because if Rob Gronkowski does opt to return for a 12th season that it’ll be to reunite with his best buddy Tom Brady in Tampa Bay. After Brady had retired, however, Gronkowski, who has yet to decide if he’ll be returning to the NFL in 2022, mentioned that there was only one other quarterback he’d want to play with.

That quarterback, as you might recall, was the one and only, Joseph Burrow. Gronk loved the confidence and the swagger that Burrow played with and was interested in joining him in Cincinnati.

However, that was before Brady decided to unretire and come back for his 300th season. Now that he’s back, if Gronkowski also wants to return, it’s hard to believe that it wouldn’t be as a member of the Buccaneers.

That being said, if Gronkowski did join the stripes, he’d definitely be their starting tight end and would give them one of the most electric options they’ve ever had at the position. He had over 800 yards receiving and six touchdowns last year despite missing five games. That’s more yardage than C.J. Uzomah put up all year despite being healthy throughout most of the season.

Gronkowski joining the Bengals could be filed under “Not going to happen” but I still had to mention him here. If he joined Cincinnati, even with Hayden Hurst signed to a one-year deal, he’d get the starting job and he’d make this offense more dangerous than it already is.