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The Cincinnati Bengals worked hard to address the offensive line in the first wave of free agency this offseason, earning mostly unanimous praise for the additions in front of Joe Burrow.
But not everyone is sold.
While chatting with names around the league about every team’s offseason moves so far, The Athletic’s Mike Sando found an executive who wasn’t too thrilled with the big three for the Bengals:
“They will be good because they are pretty good on defense and have good weapons on offense, but I don’t know if the O-line is that much better. Karras, who is kind of a journeyman. Alex Cappa is OK. La’el Collins will help them. I think they are better, but it’s marginally better.”
That’s in contrast to another source who spoke with Sando and loved the moves the Bengals made.
But this sort of meh feeling from some about what the Bengals ended up doing is why there are serious Bengals vs. Ravens AFC North debates going on right now.
As we pointed out as the signings happened, the big thing to note is just how much better the three new arrivals graded compared to who the Bengals started last year.
The three signings might not blow everyone away, but compared to what the Bengals started last year, they’re huge improvements to an offense that just made a Super Bowl.
Cincinnati’s front office also managed to avoid paying one big name (like a Brandon Scherff), instead improving upon three spots, with potentially more to come, be it in free agency or the draft.
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