5 pending Bengals free agents who have upped their stock in 2022

The Cincinnati Bengals have gotten some great production out of their pending free agents but that doesn't exactly bode well for them because it means they'll be hotter commodities when free agency begins next spring.

The Bengals have 16 players set to become unrestricted free agents, which means that anyone can sign them. Here are five pending UFAs that have played well this year and in doing so, have upped their stock ahead of free agency.

Germaine Pratt

Arguably the biggest name to hit free agency for the team now is Germaine Pratt, who has transformed into a rockstar linebacker this season. The former third-round pick out of North Carolina State is one of the best linebackers in the league, posting an 80.4 overall grade from PFF with an eye-popping 90.3 PFF grade in coverage. He has 92 tackles and 7 pass breakups in 2022 after 14 games.

Solid linebackers are hard to find and teams are going to want Pratt in the offseason. Spotrac has his market value set at four years worth $29.1 million with an annual salary of $7.2 million. That contract seems doable for Cincinnati but you have to keep in mind that they still need to pay Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Logan Wilson, and some other key names.

Keeping Pratt in Cincinnati is going to be difficult but fans would not complain if the team gave him the aforementioned contract listed above.