The Cincinnati Bengals don’t expect starting-caliber right tackles to fall to them in the first round of the draft this year.
Bengals offensive line coach Frank Pollack recently said as much while talking about Jackson Carman being in the mix at right tackle.
But what about free agency?
While the pickings in the upcoming free agency class appear slim, there’s a chance the Jacksonville Jaguars might just make things interesting for the Bengals.
According to NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe, the Jaguars will apply the franchise tag to tight end Evan Engram — not right tackle Jawaan Taylor. Wolfe stresses the Jaguars want Taylor back, but that “there’s a lot of teams out there hoping he reaches free agency.”
It would be a stunner if the Bengals weren’t at least somewhat interested in a 25-year-old tackle who only allowed five sacks last year over 1,000-plus snaps and is generally considered one of the best right tackles in the game.
Odds are the Bengals won’t want to throw $14 or more million per year at Taylor with La’el Collins already on the books. But there is an out built into Collins’ contract that would save them roughly $6 million if they chose to part ways with him after one season.
More likely the Bengals pounce on depth upgrades while the rest of the market fixates on the Jaguars unexpectedly letting Taylor hit the open market. Either way, it’s a small, good development from a Cincinnati perspective.
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