A slow start to free agency for the Cincinnati Bengals has them looking like the old Bengals that overvalued compensatory draft picks compared to the rest of the league.
Early on, it seemed like the Bengals didn’t have a choice when losing Jessie Bates and Vonn Bell.
But with free agency officially opened, the Bengals have maxed out their compensatory picks in next year’s draft, according to Nick Korte of Over The Cap.
They are as follows:
- Jessie Bates: 3rd rounder
- Vonn Bell: 5th rounder
- Hayden Hurst: 6th rounder
- Samaje Perine: 7th rounder
The Bengals can still offset some of these “gains” by signing outside free agents, but they have been notably quiet — as expected. Cincinnati’s front office has been very open about taking a future-minded approach to this offseason.
Even so, that presumably won’t stop the team from making veteran signings to replace some of the above guys before the draft. A notable byproduct of this slow-and-steady approach to the market, though, is piling up extra draft picks.
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