The Cincinnati Bengals probably won't get creative with the salary cap by making beyond-obvious moves like restructuring Joe Burrow's contract. However, it sure sounds like they're intending to make the most of the cap space they do have in free agency to help Burrow out.
Will the lack of restructure for Burrow — never mind Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins — prevent Cincinnati from paying enough to score its top open-market targets? Quite possibly.
Fingers crossed that Duke Tobin and Co. have an actual plan of action that will bring meaningful upgrades to the defense. Here's hoping my slightly revised mock offseason isn't just the stuff of mere fantasy.
We have some fresh rumor fodder on the eve of the NFL's free agency tampering period kicking off. It sounds promising, but again: See headline.
Bengals reportedly could be 'most aggressive' team to upgrade defense via free agency
ESPN's Jeremy Fowler clacked away on some last-minute buzz as the free agency frenzy closes in fast, and it sounds like some pretty great news for Bengals fans:
"The team that could prove most aggressive on the defensive free agent market is Cincinnati, which is exploring just about every position group. Edge rusher Rashan Gary is a name to watch here should the Packers move on. New Bengals defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery was with Gary in Green Bay. Cincinnati has been linked to safety Nick Cross and several defensive linemen, too."
Green Bay Packers defensive end Rashan Gary is the type of high-caliber athlete and character guy to add to the locker room. Gary was a captain for the Cheeseheads, and since becoming a full-time starter in his third NFL season, his 17-game pace for sacks per year is nine.
That's quite a strong production profile as a pass rusher. Although Gary hasn't officially been released, he deleted a social media post that signaled his departure from Titletown. Cat's out of the bag!
Beyond Gary, it appears the Bengals are poised to steal an Indianapolis Colts starter from their ex-defensive coordinator, Lou Anarumo. According to Fowler, it's not Kwity Paye — who I just wrote about as a free agent to avoid — but rather, safety Nick Cross.
Despite being a little boom-or-bust in coverage, Cross is a tackling machine with 266 combined tackles in the last two seasons. He's not someone you trust as much to play deep safety, but Jordan Battle already excels in that spot.
If it were me, I'd pay a little extra for Chiefs safety Bryan Cook, who's basically the two years older, rich man's version of Cross, with more versatility to play deep. Fowler mentions him as a Bengals target.
Targeting the likes of Rashan Gary and Nick Cross doesn't exactly scream "most aggressive" to me. But hey, it's better than nothing. Also depends who the "several defensive linemen" are that Fowler vaguely alludes to in his report. I'm not commanding that he name names. I get why he isn't. I'm just curious as to who those prospective targets could be.
I'm big on Seattle's Boye Mafe, Baltimore's Dre'Mont Jones, Tampa Bay's Logan Hall and even a reunion with D.J. Reader as possible d-line targets. Jones has similar inside-out flexibility to John Franklin-Myers, who'll probably be out of Cincinnati's price range.
The only other time Cincinnati really swung big in free agency in recent memory was when the salary cap shrank drastically around the COVID-19 pandemic. They capitalized on the cheap market that offseason to land Trey Hendrickson, Mike Hilton, and others to spark the run to Super Bowl LVI.
Ever since then, they've sat on their hands far too often, made half-reared investments that didn't pan out, and have let some excellent players like Jessie Bates walk for nothing.
In a matter of about 24 hours, we'll see just how big the Bengals' swings are to make their defense somewhat respectable. Their biggest outside addition last offseason was T.J. Slaton. Also from Green Bay. He was a nothing burger, all due respect (kind of).
At least Rashan Gary isn't some *imagined* good player. He actually is one. So that's a start?