4 free agents that the Bengals were wise to pass on in 2022 offseason

The Cincinnati Bengals made a lot of big signings in free agency earlier this year and the fans wanted to see some players land in the Queen City. It made sense for the fans to want the team to be aggressive considering how close the squad was to winning a Super Bowl a month prior.

Well, these four players were definitely on fans' wish lists and it's definitely for the best that the Bengals did not end up signing these four free agents for one reason or another. Let's dive in and discuss which free agents the Bengals dodged a bullet on by not signing.

All contracts courtesy of Spotrac and all stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference

J.C. Jackson

No one in the Bengals fandom realistically thought that the team was going to land J.C. Jackson but that doesn't mean they didn't wish the idea into existence. The Chargers are the team who went on to sign Jackson, giving him a massive five-year deal worth $82.5 million.

Jackson had an impressive career in New England, tallying a combined 17 interceptions in 2020 and 2021. That's why he got the big contract from Los Angeles, but to say it hasn't worked out early into that contract would be an understatement.

Not only did Jackson get hurt and land on IR after Week 7 but even when he was playing, he didn't look good. PFF ranked him as the worst cornerback this season with an overall grade of 28.7 and a coverage grade of 28.1. Could you imagine if Cincinnati had ponied up and paid this guy that kind of money for this kind of production? Yikes.