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The Cincinnati Bengals camp up short in a free-agency bidding war for former Cleveland Browns linebacker Joe Schobert, per a new report.
According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Bengals were “aggressively” trying to get the former Browns linebacker.
Instead, the Bengals weren’t willing to match the five-year deal worth $53.75 million the Jacksonville Jaguars gave Schobert.
Schobert is a coverage specialist and this was a major weakness the Bengals set out to correct this offseason.
But the Bengals picked a bad time to come up short, as other top linebackers like Cory Littleton are already off the market. A miss here could mean the Bengals resort to a lesser-known name and have to enter the draft prioritizing the need more than they’d prefer.
It was unlikely the Bengals wanted to shoot into the $20 million range in terms of guaranteed dollars, something the Jaguars exploited in this particular bidding war.
The Bengals were trying aggressively to get ILB Joe Schobert but wouldn't match Jacksonville's final asking price, which is a massive five-year, $53.75-million deal.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) March 17, 2020
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