Cincinnati Bengals fans are still in shock that their team won't be participating in the Super Bowl this year. Even with that being the case, the show will go on and it'll be the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles taking the field on Sunday night in Arizona.
The Bengals might not be in the game but the front office and fans can still watch and hope to see these eight players donning the stripes in the foreseeable future.
Contract projections courtesy of PFF
Stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference
Chauncey Gardner-Johnson
With the Bengals potentially losing both Jessie Bates and Vonn Bell this offseason, they're going to need to address the safety position in free agency. One of the more intriguing options hitting the free-agent market in the spring is Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, a fourth-round pick out of Florida in 2019 who thrived with the Saints for the first three years of his career and now is in the Super Bowl with the Eagles.
Gardner-Johnson's best asset is his turnover ability, as the Eagles defensive back totaled a career-high six interceptions. He did miss five games due to injury but there's no debating that Gardner-Johnson would be an excellent addition to the Bengals' secondary, especially if they lose both Bates and Bell.
Contract Projection: 3 years, $34.5 million ($11.5 million per year)
Juan Thornhill
An underrated player hitting free agency this offseason is Chiefs safety Juan Thornhill, who has been a good player during his time in Kansas City. His coverage PFF grade of 68.7 shows that the guy can hold his own and the Bengals might need to give his agent a ring.
Thornhill somehow didn't crack PFF's list of top 100 free agents so there isn't a contract extension available for him but hopefully that makes him an affordable option. If he's a bargan free agent, the Bengals need to consider adding him. Let's see how he does in the Super Bowl and then we can really be sure.