The Cincinnati Bengals knew they needed to address their squishy defensive line in the early stages of free agency, and they seem to be well on their way to building a more respectable unit after agreeing to terms with former Green Bay Packers starter TJ Slaton on Monday afternoon.
Slaton will ink a two-year contract worth $15 million. This comes just a few hours after agreeing to bring back veteran BJ Hill on a three-year contract. After ranking as one of the worst run-stuffing teams in the league last season, the Bengals made this move with the intention of fixing that one huge hole.
Cincinnati has its starting defensive tackles locked in place for at least the next two seasons. This defense is starting to round into form, even if they may need one or two more big additions in the mix to officially drag this unit out of the lower rungs of the league.
Bengals to sign TJ Slaton away from Packers with two-year contract
Slaton hasn't missed a game in four seasons and has started every game in the last two seasons. Pro Football Focus may not love him, but his tape shows he is an above-average run defender, as the 330-pound goliath has made a career out of eating up space on the interior of the line.
Slaton is not going to offer the most upside as a pass rusher, but the Bengals didn't sign him for that. Slaton is a big body who can eat up space and stop the run on early downs, and his limited player profile is still worth a deal like this due to his run-stuffing utility.
While the Bengals will likely trade away Trey Hendrickson and get a haul of picks back in return, the current starting defensive line will feature the All-Pro alongside former first-round pick Myles Murphy and the 1-2 punch of Hill and Slaton on the interior. It's not perfect, but it's better than it has been previously.
Slaton is likely not going to blow Bengals fans away with his performance, but he is going to likely emerge as a rock-solid starter who can fill up an area of need without breaking the bank for a cash-strapped team.