Top 4 Bengals positions that need more depth after the second week of free agency
We're a couple of weeks into free agency now and, while things have certainly slowed down, there are still a good number of players left in the pool that are available for the Cincinnati Bengals to sign. Not just instant impact guys, but solid depth pieces to build off of and rely on when another player goes down.
After how last season ended in part due to injuries the team couldn't come back from, the Bengals should -- and looks like they're going to -- take advantage of this and build upon their great roster with good depth value.
They are already well prepared in some positions, the defensive line particularly runs deep, but others could use some work, so here are four positions that need more depth moving forward in free agency and the draft.
All stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference.
Contract information courtesy of Spotrac
4. Linebacker
Of all the positions, linebacker is arguably the thinnest. Behind Logan Wilson and Germaine Pratt, the stripes only have four guys listed for the position, with Akeem Davis-Gaither being the only one with extended experience at this level.
Joe Bachie and Markus Bailey have seen the field on defense, however, their snap counts on that side of the ball took a sharp dive from 2021-- Bachie going from 160 to just 13 and Bailey dropping from 256 to just 58.
Most of their snaps now come on special teams, which seems to be what their roles on the team mostly consist of rather than being linebacker depth, so I feel like it'd be a good idea for the front office to pick up one of the remaining unsigned linebackers still left. Preferably a veteran who wouldn't take up too much cap.
This includes Kyle Van Noy from the Chargers, who signed with the LA team of the AFC for just a little over $2 million, so it's unlikely he'd command a huge contract. Anthony Barr from Dallas is still available, and the deal he worked out with the Cowboys last season was only worth up to $3 million so he also wouldn't take too much cap space to sign.
There's a just a couple of examples, there are plenty more solid veteran linebackers that are currently free agents left in the pool, and the Bengals could greatly expand their depth at this position just by signing one of them.