The Cincinnati Bengals made sure to outpsend a team like the Dallas Cowboys while agreeing to sign running back Zack Moss in free agency.
That feat, plus a pretty unique two-year structure for the club, was a testament to just how much the team liked the versatile running back, who they will pair with Chase Brown in a committee to replace the Joe Mixon era.
And that aggressiveness is merely a two-year contract worth $8 million with $4.525 in Year 1. Mixon, on the other hand, had an $8.85 million cap hit next year and a $3 million roster bonus due on March 17 (hence the quick move).
So on paper, the Bengals saved that $3 million and saved a chunk of cap space, too, in the $6.1 million range.
Tack on Geno Stone’s arrival via free agency, which is estimated to be a roughly $6 million cap hit in Year 1, and the Bengals should have roughly $30 million in free cap space after accounting for a draft class that includes a newly-awarded third-round compensatory pick.
This roughly $30 million will change dramatically in the coming days, if not hours, as the Bengals make further signings. They can even save cap space, too (cutting Nick Scott after Stone’s arrival, for example, or a Tee Higgins extension and/or trade). But the ultimate takeaway is the Bengals got younger and more versatile while saving a small chunk of change with the Moss signing.
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