The Cincinnati Bengals are in full evaluation mode on Sunday when they battle the AFC North rival Cleveland Browns at Paycor Stadium. A number of Bengals are likely to play their final down for the team in the regular-season finale.
This Cincinnati roster will look a lot different going forward. Defensive end is one position that figures to have a huge overhaul, or simply count on some incumbents to fill the void for anticipated departures, headlined by Trey Hendrickson.
We'll dive into all the Bengals who are in the final game of their contracts in Week 18 and hand out some superlatives. Who should the top re-signing priorities be? Who might be out of Cincinnati's price range? And who should the Bengals just make peace with letting go?
To quote Dak Prescott apropos of nothing in particular, yeeeeeah, here we go...
Bengals pending free agents post-Week 18 create lots of uncertainty about the defense
- DE Trey Hendrickson (VOID)
- OL Dalton Risner
- TE Noah Fant
- DE Joseph Ossai
- S Geno Stone
- CB Jalen Davis
- QB Jake Browning (RFA)
- CB Cam Taylor-Britt
- TE Tanner Hudson
- OL Cordell Volson
- S Tycen Anderson
- OL Lucas Patrick
- DE Cam Sample
- WR Mitchell Tinsley (ERFA)
- DE Isaiah Foskey (RFA)
- LB Joe Giles-Harris (ERFA)
- LB Shaka Heyward (ERFA)
- S P.J. Jules (ERFA)
- TE Cam Grandy (ERFA)
- CB Marco Wilson
- LB Brian Asamoah
Must-keep players: Dalton Risner & Jalen Davis
Too little, too late is a phrase that will often come to mind when reflecting on this season. Why the Bengals waited until the 11th hour to sign Dalton Risner will never make sense to me. Same goes for elevating Jalen Davis to starting nickelback status once the playoffs were all but impossible to qualify for.
Risner is the low-key MVP on an offensive line that's really come into its own. It's imperative that the Bengals retain him to ensure Joe Burrow gets the best protection possible in the coming years.
Dalton Risner had another great game against Arizona and is now having the best year of his career, per PFF.
— Gridiron Grading (@GridironGrading) December 29, 2025
Two reasons to re-sign him:
1) He’s a good RG
2) Having stability at RG has helped Amarius Mims have an extended run of very good RT play, and he is the future. https://t.co/ZMaIUv0TJU pic.twitter.com/pLgQAsKihT
As for Davis, his promotion from the practice squad has been a raging success. It's freed up Dax Hill to flex out to the boundary, forming a formidable 1-2 punch on the perimeter with the All-Pro caliber DJ Turner.
Neither Risner nor Davis will break the bank on the open market. Cincinnati has over $69 million in cap space to work with. No excuse not to get those deals done.
Read More: 4 decisions Bengals can’t afford to procrastinate on this offseason
Top candidates to change their stripes: Trey Hendrickson & Joseph Ossai
If the Bengals Bengal all over themselves, they'll franchise tag Hendrickson against his will and have another knock-down, drag-out session of contract negotiations. Hendrickson's season-ending injury only makes matters more complicated.
Allowing Hendrickson to flee is the savvy move for all parties involved. Even without him down the stretch, there were enough promising reps from 2023 first-round pick Myles Murphy to justify rolling with him as a starter.
I wrote on Thanksgiving about how Joseph Ossai probably priced himself out of Cincinnati. Ossai has missed some time with an injury of late. He'll test the market, and I'm almost positive another team will outbid the Bengals for his services.
That puts all the pressure on Shemar Stewart to take a huge Year 2 leap. Rather than sticking with Cam Sample as a rotational piece, I'd like to see the Bengals run it back with Isaiah Foskey. He's a past second-round pick whose flashes this season reflected that gaudy draft status.
Looks like the future of the defensive end position is Murphy, Stewart, Foskey, and Cedric Johnson. Plus perhaps another draftee or outside free agent.
Sounds alright to me — assuming Stewart can stay healthy and realize anything close to his immense potential.
Let him walk: Geno Stone
Defensive coordinator Al Golden had some praise for Stone recently, but that shouldn't be enough to keep him in the fold beyond Week 18.
Al Golden praises Geno Stone… and then he’s asked about Stone’s future.
— James Rapien (@JamesRapien) December 30, 2025
Stay until the end. https://t.co/OfDrgZllO0 pic.twitter.com/mTUxeH8qBg
Stone may be a veteran on the back end in a secondary that could use some of that leadership. He's just not good enough to justify proceeding with as a starter if this defense is meant to make a meaningful leap forward in 2026.
Jordan Battle has actually played a lot of deep safety this season, which is Stone's wheelhouse. Stone isn't a box safety. Dreadful tackler in space.
Whether it's free agency or the draft, it won't be hard to upgrade from Stone, who ranks 84th out of 98 qualifying safeties in PFF's season-long grades. That includes 83rd out of 88 qualifiers in run defense.