3 Free Agent Do-Overs for Bengals from 2023

This was an important offseason for the Cincinnati Bengals. Did they finally add the right pieces to their team in order to get over the hump and win their first Super Bowl in franchise history?

Free agency began on a rough note for the Stripes, as they lost key players Jessie Bates, Vonn Bell, Hayden Hurst, and Samaje Perine within the first week. While they did add Orlando Brown Jr. to their offensive line, losing those four players definitely hurt.

If the Bengals could redo free agency, what moves would they make?

Bengals free-agent do-over No. 3: RB2 situation

A lot of fans were stunned when Samaje Perine didn't return to Cincinnati and instead opted to sign with Sean Payton's Broncos on a two-year deal worth $7.5 million, according to Spotrac. This was a contract that the Bengals could have afforded and the loss of Perine won't go unnoticed.

By letting Perine walk, the Bengals lost out on their backup running back returning for a pivotal season and now will lean on a rookie running back to do the lion's share should Joe Mixon have to miss time. It's not an ideal situation.

Once Perine left, the Bengals should have prioritized finding a different veteran running back to serve as Mixon's backup but that never happened and still hasn't, as of this writing. Ezekiel Elliott or Dalvin Cook would make this run game explosive and the Bengals should have either tried to keep Perine or add a veteran who could help elevate the level of play from the run game.