The Cincinnati Bengals have been pretty active since the onset of free agency. The team has signed several outside free agents in addition to re-signing some of their own players.
Some fans probably would have liked to see even more moves from the Bengals, but not all moves are necessarily good moves. Sometimes teams dodge major bullets by not signing guys simply for the sake of it. Buyer's remorse is a real thing that many teams experience, often just mere months after free agency.
With that as the backdrop, here's a look at three free agents the Bengals were wise to avoid.
Christian Wilkins, Defensive tackle
The Bengals needed some help on the defensive line heading into free agency, and so did the Las Vegas Raiders. The difference is that one team signed Christian Wilkins to a four-year, $110 million deal, with $57.5 fully guaranteed, and one didn't.
Time will tell which team will feel better about their decision, but it seems like the Bengals were wise not to invest so heavily in a player who has never even made a Pro Bowl (That's not meant as a diss on Wilkins, who is a tackling machine).
Instead, they signed Sheldon Rankins to a two-year deal worth less than a quarter of Wilkins' deal. Rankins is only one year older than Wilkins, but he has three more years of professional experience under his belt. While Wilkins might be the better individual player, the Bengals will have an easier time building out the rest of the roster without a deal like Wilkins' on the books.