It always stings when you can steal from a rival to improve your own team by hurting their cause, and the Cincinnati Bengals have done it before.
The most recent example of Bengals-Ravens cross-pollination was when Cincinnati poached safety Geno Stone from Baltimore in 2024's edition of free agency. Stone was coming off a seven-interception season, and the Bengals seemed to score him at a bargain given that production.
Unfortunately, it's been a roller coaster for Stone in Cincy to date. He's not the player many had hoped, which is kind of par for the course when it comes to the Bengals putting their guys in position to succeed.
Ex-Bengals cornerback Chidobe Awuzie has defied the odds and shined for the Ravens this season as one of the league's best corners. Cincinnati could've clapped back on the open market this offseason by signing Baltimore's imposing nose tackle Travis Jones, but to the Ravens' credit, they nipped that in the bud as of Thursday.
Ravens' Travis Jones extension should wake Bengals up to ink ascending star to new contract
Whereas the Bengals are not the least bit proactive or early in shelling out money to their best players, the far more stable/winning Ravens organization does just that more often than not. It's what good football operations tend to do.
ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the news of Travis Jones' extension on a sensible three-year, $40.5 million contract, including $25 million guaranteed. Jones is PFF's 14th highest-rated defensive tackle this season, and he's a massive presence on Baltimore's front with a listed weight of 341 pounds.
How's this for a wrinkle, too? Amid not-insignificant tension, the Ravens and Jones came together in agreement anyway, well ahead of the curve.
Interesting situation for Jones, who had a grievance hearing over his RFA status scheduled for late morning. Ravens and Jones reached a deal before that https://t.co/MAwlTM8Ukt
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) December 11, 2025
Some context to Travis Jones’ deal. He’s playing on the 4th year of rookie contract, but like Rashod Bateman situation in ‘24, Jones didn’t get accrued season as a rookie because an issue with CBA. So Jones was on track to only be an restricted FA after this season.
— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) December 11, 2025
WHAT A CONCEPT! Even if Jones lost his grievance hearing, the Bengals could've bid for him as a restricted free agent and overpaid to lure him away from their AFC North adversary.
Alas, Baltimore didn't let it get to that point.
As for Jones the player, he will never be a stupendous pass rusher, yet he's exceptional at defending the run. Given how little the Bengals have gotten out of similarly-sized 2024 third-round pick McKinnley Jackson, Jones was the optimal free-agent target for Cincinnati.
Who Dey Heads can argue with me till they're blue in the face that Tedarrell Slaton already fills that role. Slaton was the Bengals' "splashy" free agent from this past year. He's one of the worst defensive tackles in the sport. Wasn't that great to begin with before he signed. Not much has changed. Despite Slaton and the defense improving some recently, they're still letting up 5.2 yards per carry.
Anyway, point being is that third-year Cincinnati corner DJ Turner is having an All-Pro-caliber season. Trey Hendrickson is too alienated to stick around, so the Bengals better build their defense around someone.
Risking tension at the negotiating table against Turner is not an option. That's especially so in light of Joe Burrow's comments that hint at a cloudy future with the team.
Turner is more than worthy of a second contract before next season. Although Jones' situation was different since he was a pending free agent, the principle is the same: Get ahead of your core players' next paydays, and make sure they're satisfied.
Above any other team in the NFL, the historically cheap Bengals should be ingratiating themselves to players as much as possible, not playing hardball. Imagine if Burrow does request a trade. Who on earth would want to come play for this organization? The Bengals' reputation precedes them already. If Burrow is expressing doubts in public, imagine what he's saying behind the scenes.
Extending Turner early would go a long way in building goodwill with another key player, the Bengals' fan base, and the league at large to ensure this franchise won't be derailed by a Burrow trade demand.