5. Re-sign Germaine Pratt
The Bengals have some decisions to make regarding the linebacker position this offseason and one of them is if they'll pony up and pay Germaine Pratt what he deserves. They absolutely should.
What Pratt provided the Bengals with this year can't be easily replaced. He had 99 tackles, six tackles for loss, two interceptions, and one sack in 15 starts. PFF was a huge fan of Pratt, giving him a sparkling grade of 80.6 overall for his efforts in 2022.
Spotrac projects Pratt will earn a four-year deal worth $42.4 million, which is a lot of dough but the guy is pivotal to this defense. PFF doesn't project that he'll make as much, predicting a three-year deal worth $24.75 million for the linebacker. That's more manageable for sure and one that Cincinnati should definitely pounce on.
4. Re-sign Vonn Bell
With the Bengals set to potentially lose both of their starting safeties in free agency, they need to make one of them a priority. That player needs to be Vonn Bell, who signed with the team in the 2020 offseason and was a huge boost to their secondary.
Bell is coming off a season where he had a career-high four interceptions and received a 66.3 overall grade from PFF. He's a huge piece of the defense and losing both him and Jessie Bates would hurt tremendously. That's why keeping Bell needs to be a priority.
PFF projects that he'll earn a three-year deal worth $22 million with an annual salary of $7.33 million. This price is worth it to keep Bell in a Bengals uniform.