Ask a Cincinnati Bengals fan which NFL team they hate the most and more than likely, their answer will be the Pittsburgh Steelers. During Ben Roethlisberger's reign of terror, the Steelers had Cincinnati's number but it feels like the tides are turning now that he's gone.
Cincinnati has won four of the last five games against Pittsburgh and the one game they lost came in overtime. Joe Burrow threw four picks in that game and Clark Harris was injured so the Bengals weren't able to knock through some key field goals that could have won them the game.
Anyway, it'd make Bengals fans happy to steal some away from the team they hate the most. Which pending Steelers free agent could make the most sense in the Queen City?
The Bengals should sign this Steelers free agent.
The name I'm going with here is one that Cincinnati fans are familiar with because he played in the stripes recently. I'm talking, of course, about Larry Ogunjobi, who spent the 2021 season in Cincinnati and was a solid player for them.
Ogunjobi had previously signed a massive contract with the Bears in the 2022 offseason but failed his physical and hit free agency again after that happened. The Bengals had wanted to bring him back but they had to pick between him and B.J. Hill and while they chose wisely by re-signing Hill, it'd be nice having Ogunjobi back.
Last season, Ogunjobi started 16 games for Pittsburgh and had 48 tackles, 11 QB hits, seven tackles for loss, and 1.5 sacks. He played 63% of defensive snaps for the Steelers so he was clearly a big piece for them defensively.
The Bengals had a good defense last season but they weren't able to get after the quarterback much. Ogunjobi was pretty dang good at that while he was in town, amassing seven sacks in 2021. He might not be the same in that department but he'd give the team another awesome defender in their quest for a Super Bowl title.
Ogunjobi wouldn't break the bank either. He's projected by Spotrac to earn a two-year deal worth $6.9 million with an annual salary of $3.4 million. That's a deal the Bengals could afford and given the fact that Ogunjobi hasn't left the AFC North, why not come back to Cincinnati?
This would not only make the Bengals stronger but it'd make the Steelers weaker and who doesn't love that idea?