Bengals 3 best moves of the 2023 offseason

The Cincinnati Bengals lost their fair share of talented players this offseason but they still managed to put together a pretty successful spring campaign.

While the good guys lost key players such as Jessie Bates, Vonn Bell, Hayden Hurst, and Samaje Perine in free agency, there were plenty of positive moves to note. Let's take a look at the three best moves made by Cincinnati this spring.

All contract information courtesy of Spotrac

3. Letting Hayden Hurst walk

This might surprise some people but the Bengals were wise to let Hurst walk. The former first-round pick by the Ravens spent two years in Baltimore before getting traded to Atlanta. He had his best year with the Falcons in 2020 and then played second-fiddle in 2021 due to the addition of Kyle Pitts to the dirty birds offense.

Hurst signed with the Bengals last offseason after the team lost CJ Uzomah in free agency. What followed wasn't a career year for him but he played well in the Queen City, racking up 52 receptions for 414 yards and two touchdowns during the regular season.

Those numbers were fine for a tight end but at the end of the day, the Bengals were smart to let him sign a big deal elsewhere. Don't get me wrong -- Hurst was great. The reason letting him walk was a good move by Cincy was simply that Hurst wasn't worthy of a three-year deal worth $21.75 million, at least not at age 30, which he'll turn in August.

The Bengals let Uzomah sign a three-year deal a year ago shortly before he turned 30 and so far, that move looks to be a smart one. It's a similar story here with Hurst. The team needs to save money to extend their top dogs so letting Hurst go needed to happen.