After failing to make the Super Bowl in the 2022 season, the Cincinnati Bengals still are very much contenders as long as this current unit sticks together as long as possible. That'll be easier said than done, of course, especially now that the key players are nearing the end of their rookie deals.
With the offseason underway, it's time to evaluate some of the easier decisions the Bengals have to make this spring. A few questions that I asked myself when putting this list together were who could make sense as a cap casualty? Who should the team absolutely re-sign? Which free agent does the team need to home in on? Who deserves an extension? What should the team do in the draft?
These questions are what I focused on when putting this list together. Now let's get to it!
Player stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference
Player contracts courtesy of PFF and Spotrac
Player grades courtesy of PFF
8. Cut La'el Collins
The Bengals have time on their side here but it doesn't look good for La'el Collins to be the team's starting right tackle when the 2023 season gets underway. The former Cowboy was acquired last offseason and never appeared to be in football shape. He missed practices and was honestly just underwhelming.
The Bengals set the contract up so that they could get out of it a little easier after the first year and that's likely what they'll do here. Cutting Collins saves the team $6 million if they do it before June 1 and saves them over $7 million if they do it after June 1.
If Collins doesn't look to be recovering well from his surgery, this would be a no-brainer decision from the organization. That leads me to my next point.