Grading CB Chidobe Awuzie’s deal with the Bengals: B

The Bengals keep signing average cornerbacks, while allowing their best cornerback to quite possibly walk right out the door.

Last season, the Bengals signed former Vikings cornerback Trae Waynes to a three-year, $42 million contract with $15 million guaranteed despite the fact that Waynes was one of the NFL’s worst cornerbacks in the league in 2019. We were not able to find out if Waynes was capable of a rebound year in Cincinnati, as he missed the entire season due to injury. Meanwhile, William Jackson, who is very much on the open market as I type this, retained his status as one of the NFL’s five best man cornerbacks in 2020.

So, as opposed to moving heaven and earth to lock Jackson up, the Bengals went out and agreed to terms with former Cowboys cornerback Chidobe Awuzie — a good player with above-average traits who hasn’t yet put it all together. Not that his situation helped his performance last season. The deal is for three years, $21,750 million in total, a $7,500,000 signing bonus, $7,500,000 guaranteed, and a 2021 cap hit of $4.05 million. So, CB2 money for a CB2 who could be better in a better system, not that the Bengals automatically present that.

There are times when a downgrade in performance can be attributed mostly to a player, and there are other times when you have to look at coaching and scheme. 2020 was Awuzie’s worst NFL season to date, but when you looked at the ways in which defensive coordinator Mike Nolan over-complicated Dallas’ coverage concepts and made them unilaterally worse, one tends not to blame Awuzie in this instance.

https://twitter.com/NFL_DougFarrar/status/1314706056874995715

Last season, Awuzie allowed 25 receptions on 38 targets for 396 yards, 145 yards after the catch, four touchdowns, one interception, and an opponent passer rating of 124.5 in an injury- and COVID-shortened season. But he’s a good player who can match and jump routes, and he deserves to be in a defense that isn’t blowing itself apart with alarming regularity. Sadly, the Bengals’ defense under Lou Anarumo has been just such a defense over the last two seasons. And if the Bengals let Jackson walk, thinking that Chidobe Awuzie is the replacement answer, the grade on this deal goes from B to something far less appealing.