The Cincinnati Bengals haven't been able to retain as many of their key free agents as they'd had hoped, losing Jessie Bates, Vonn Bell, Hayden Hurst, and Samaje Perine in the early goings of free agency. They have been able to retain Germaine Pratt and Trayveon Williams, however and signed Orlando Brown Jr. to a huge deal.
We know the futures of these players now but what do their contracts look like? That's what we'll be discussing in this post. We'll keep updating this post as new deals are made so keep checking back.
Germaine Pratt contract
The first move that impacted the Bengals in free agency was the re-signing of Germaine Pratt. This was a move that many didn't think was possible but he's back on a three-year deal worth $21 million. Jake Liscow breaks things down more in the tweet provided below.
Full details on Pratt from @Jason_OTC https://t.co/XYHCYKBYMK
— Jake Liscow (@JakeLiscow) March 13, 2023
7M bonus a bit bigger than expected, no yr-1 roster bonus, slightly smaller yr-1 hit and bigger yr-3 hit.
Solid $10M in year-1 cash for Pratt, and nice for the team to modestly push cap hits to future years pic.twitter.com/S5qAWmlQE2
Vonn Bell contract
The most shocking loss so far for Cincinnati was Vonn Bell, who is signing with Carolina on a three-year deal worth $22.5 million. He's entering his age 28 season and will be 30 years old by the time this contract is up and that might have been a main reason why the Bengals stayed away from re-signing him.
#Panthers deal for Vonn Bell: three years $22.5M, $13M gtd, $5.835M signing bonus, salaries $1.165M (gtd), $6M (gtd), $3.25M; $3M roster bonus 3rd day 2024 league year, $3.25M roster bonus 3rd day 2025 league year
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) March 14, 2023
Jessie Bates contract
The one free agent that Bengals fans figured was as good as gone was Jessie Bates, who is now headed to Atlanta to help the Falcons' secondary. He signed a massive four-year deal with the Falcons worth a whopping $64.02 million and he'll earn $23 million in 2023. The Bengals were never going to give him that deal, especially not after an underwhelming 2022 campaign.
Four years, $64.02 million for Jessie Bates, who gets $23M in Year 1, per source. https://t.co/7dtPtrtq6f
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 13, 2023
Samaje Perine contract
The Broncos swooped in and stole Samaje Perine from Cincinnati, paying him $7.5 million over the next two years in the process. This might not seem like a huge loss since Perine was a backup running back but he filled in well for Joe Mixon and was a big piece for the team in key games. He'll definitely be missed.
Take 2 with money and his name spelled right this time: #Broncos agree to terms with former #Bengals RB Samaje Perine on a two-year, $7.5 million deal with another $1 million in incentives, source says.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 14, 2023
Hayden Hurst contract
The Panthers poached another player from Cincinnati, this time stealing Hayden Hurst from them. Hurst signed a three-year deal worth $21.75 million and will earn $13 million guaranteed. Considering Hurst wasn't projected to earn a ton in free agency (at least not by Spotrac), this is a great deal for him but we can all agree it's one the Bengals were never going to pay him.
#Panthers' deal for TE Hayden Hurst: Three years, $21.75 million with $13 million fully guaranteed at signing. Solid deal for Hurst in a slow tight end market.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 15, 2023
Orlando Brown contract
The Bengals were able to land Brown on a four-year deal worth $64 million and it's front-loaded to accomodate Joe Burrow's eventual extension. The Bengals have their left tackle.
Sources: Four-time Pro Bowl tackle and Super Bowl champ Orlando Brown Jr. is finalizing a four-year, $64.092 million front-loaded deal with the #Bengals that includes an over $31M signing bonus — largest ever for an o-lineman.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 16, 2023
Brown’s agent, Michael Portner, confirmed the deal. pic.twitter.com/GFFZX0zLrs
Trent Taylor contract
The details of Taylor's contract have not been released, as of this writing.
Cody Ford contract
The details of Ford's contract have not been released, as of this writing.