Tag: Bengals free agency

Overlooked free agent WR suggested as fit for Bengals

Should the Bengals go after this free agent?

The Cincinnati Bengals have a rather pressing need at wide receiver when taking into account the loss of Tyler Boyd and the long-term question mark around Tee Higgins.

As such, it’s becoming increasingly popular to see the Bengals taking a wide receiver in a mock draft or even adding a free agent.

One such example of this is Bleacher Report’s Matt Holder suggesting that veteran D.J. Chark Jr. is a fit for the Bengals:

To be honest, the Bengals have a pretty good roster where there isn’t much room for an outsider to come in and start right away. So, adding Chark would be a move to see if he can potentially replace Tee Higgins next season. The 2019 Pro Bowler isn’t the same player he used to be, but he is coming off back-to-back 500-yard campaigns.

Chark, yet another LSU wideout, spent last season in Carolina and over 15 games caught 35 passes for 525 yards and five scores. He’s been unable to reach the heights of his 2019 campaign (73 catches, 1,008 yards and eight scores) and had problems staying healthy.

Still, Chark is the type of veteran the Bengals might look to add over the spring. Andrei Iosivas and Charlie Jones aren’t locks to contribute full time and the team would like more speed from the slot than what Boyd offered.

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Bengals staffer thinks Joe Burrow is great for recruiting free agents

The Bengals know Joe Burrow is big with free agents.

The Cincinnati Bengals landed some solid free agents this offseason again, and Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com talked to the director of pro scouting, Steven Radicevic, about many different things, but of course, free agency came up.

When it comes to the Bengals, Radicevic believes the team has some advantage when it comes to some free agents and that advantage is having Joe Burrow as their quarterback.

Here’s what Radicevic had to say when Hobson asked whether Burrow being on the team helps when it comes to getting free agents to sign in Cincinnati:

It definitely does with guys like (tight ends) Mike Gesicki and Tanner Hudson. Those types of guys know they’re going to get their touches. I think Mike felt that a little bit last year in New England and knows what playing with a good quarterback can do for you. He definitely would have gotten a lot more going somewhere else, but he knew that coming here and playing on the one-year deal, he’s going to benefit from the quarterback and the system that we have.

Not only does Burrow provide an advantage on the field through the means of being a great quarterback, but he’s also helping off the field without even trying.

If having a good quarterback is a good recruiting tool in free agency, there aren’t many other teams that have a better way to persuade than the Bengals.

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Bengals free agent target Teair Tart signs with Dolphins

A target of the Bengals in free agency has signed elsewhere.

Apparent Cincinnati Bengals free-agent target Teair Tart has signed elsewhere on the open market.

The veteran defensive lineman is off to join the Miami Dolphins not long after a reported visit with the Bengals.

It never sounded like said visit was going to lead to a signing. A visit was a predictable outcome, though, after the Bengals were one of the teams that attempted to claim Tart on waivers last season.

The Bengals have otherwise pivoted to Sheldon Rankins as the DJ Reader replacement, with the organization recently commenting on that change. Reader, too, has had some interesting comments about his departure from the Bengals.

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Bengals suggested as fit for big free-agent OL

Should the Bengals go after this free agent?

The Cincinnati Bengals remain a team that looks like it could add further help to the offensive line this offseason.

While many of the projections focus on the Bengals doing so during the draft after the addition of Trent Brown, that’s not the case for all.

Bleacher Report’s Alex Kay, for example, projects the Bengals as a nice fit for free agent veteran tackle Andrus Peat:

The Bengals are well-positioned for a bounce-back year with a healthy Joe Burrow returning under center, but their hopes of a deep playoff run could be quickly derailed by offensive line injuries. Peat would provide Cincinnati with an ideal insurance option in case Brown doesn’t live up to expectations, along with some much-needed depth at guard.

What’s interesting about Peat is that, while he was forced into playing left tackle last year, he’s spent the bulk of a very productive career at left guard. That’s another area the Bengals could seek to upgrade this offseason to give Cordell Volson some competition.

But like Trent Brown, Peat is another free agent at this stage of the market with availability issues, as he’s played in 13 or more games just two times since 2019.

Still, Peat is a name to keep in mind at this stage, especially if the team doesn’t go offensive line early in the draft.

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Bengals WR Tyler Boyd getting interest from top contenders in free agency

An update on the market for Bengals WR Tyler Boyd in free agency.

The latest update on Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tyler Boyd in free agency sounds similar to the most recent.

Mainly, it’s a slow market for the veteran.

That, and that popular-theorized fit with the Pittsburgh Steelers isn’t going to pan out.

Mark Kaboly of The Athletic provided the latest update, which includes mention of other teams with a possible interest in Boyd:

I would say that it would be a long shot, at best, that the two sides come together. From what I have been told, Boyd was extremely interested in Pittsburgh at the beginning of the free-agency process, but the offer wasn’t something he was comfortable with. Boyd has at least had preliminary interest from the Chiefs, Chargers, Dolphins, Lions and 49ers. I am pretty sure the ship with the Steelers has sailed.

Boyd was an obvious fit with his hometown Steelers in more than one way. But a lot of factors — including a very deep wideout draft class this month — have slowed the market, leaving the likes of Boyd waiting.

It will be interesting to see if Boyd lands somewhere before the draft or elects to wait and then pick from the teams that still need help, but it’s clear there are several contenders who might be in the mix.

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Former Bengals QB joins Commanders in free agency

A former Bengals QB is on the move.

A former Cincinnati Bengals quarterback has joined the Washington Commanders via free agency.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Jeff Driskel inked a deal with Washington, joining a depth chart that includes Marcus Maritoa after the trade of Sam Howell — a depth chart that might see more changes very soon.

Driskel was a waiver claim by the Bengals in 2016 and eventually made his debut with the team in 2018, replacing an injured Andy Dalton.

Funny enough, after bouncing around with a few different teams starting in 2019, Driskel actually started for the Cleveland Browns against the Bengals in last season’s finale, with the Browns resting starters en route to the playoffs.

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Bengals were always Mike Gesicki’s target in free agency

Mike Gesicki gave one big reason, too — Joe Burrow.

New Cincinnati Bengals tight end Mike Gesicki seemed to have the team in mind well before the free agency market opened.

Gesicki himself appeared to suggest as much recently after his stint in New England on a rough offense that produced a career-low 45 targets.

Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic summed up the situation nicely while looking at the signing:

After spending last year in the offensive trainwreck that was the New England Patriots, Gesicki knew exactly what his career needed and his skill set demanded. That’s why since the moment the season ended, he’d been talking to his wife, Halle, about going to Cincinnati. When the Bengals called, he knew where it would end.

Now Gesicki gets to become the latest one-year, prove-it target for Joe Burrow.

And he says that No. 9 factored more than anything in the thought process, per Dehner: “They could have said it was the worst place in the world, but when you got No. 9 at quarterback, I was like, ‘That is the place I want to go.’”

And go he did, with the potential to contribute more than the last few guys to hold the No. 1 spot on the depth chart over the last few years. With Gesicki’s skill in the slot well proven and Tyler Boyd gone, his initial gut feeling about Cincinnati could be proven right in a hurry.

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Bengals signing Geno Stone tabbed ‘steal of free agent class’

One expert loves the Bengals signing Geno Stone.

The Cincinnati Bengals got one of the steals of free agency by signing Geno Stone away from the Baltimore Ravens.

So says ESPN, where Matt Miller graded the move as an “A+” while pointing out that a weak safety class could mean one doesn’t get drafted over the opening two rounds:

This is the steal of the free agent class so far. Stone will be tied for the 11th-highest-paid safety in the game. Stone, who was drafted in the seventh round of the 2020 draft, gets rewarded after four years of league minimum pay. The 24-year-old has eight career interceptions … but notched seven in 2023 alone, playing in new defensive coordinator Mike MacDonald’s scheme.

The Bengals desperately needed to find safety help after a disastrous year following the loss of Vonn Bell and Jessie Bates.

So arrives Stone, a rangy playmaker who can be on the field with Dax Hill and Jordan Battle. Or, he can play that deep Bates-styled role and Hill can move to the slot.

Plus, given the contract details we now know, it’s a savvy deal along the same lines as Chidobe Awuzie the front office has pulled off in recent years.

So good value at the right time, hitting a major need and taking from a divisional rival — it certainly feels like one of the better moves of free agency.

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Another former Bengals player joins the Panthers in free agency

Another Bengals player has joined the Panthers.

Yet another former Cincinnati Bengals player has landed with the Carolina Panthers.

One offseason removed from Hayden Hurst and Vonn Bell leaving the Bengals to sign with the Panthers, former safety Nick Scott has done the same.

Scott signed with the Bengals last year, coming over from the Los Angeles Rams as the team searched for help after the losses of Bell and Jessie Bates. But the secondary as a whole struggled and the Bengals cut Scott recently after encouraging play from rookie Jordan Battle.

Now Scott goes to Carolina, where he’ll reunite with Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero.

To complete the cycle, the Bengals got Bell back via free agency after his release from the Panthers, plus the Bengals picked up a compensatory draft pick due to his one season with the Panthers.

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Mike Hilton recruits major free agent name to Bengals

Mike Hilton does his part to help the Bengals in free agency.

Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Mike Hilton has acted as a recruit for big names in free agency in the past, though he hasn’t been seen doing it much this year.

Until now, that is.

Friday, Hilton popped up on social media and sent a recruiting message to free-agent cornerback Xavien Howard.

Howard, going on 31 years old, only played in 13 games last year while battling injuries and ultimately getting released by Miami. He’s a former All-Pro, though, and the type of possible prove-it deal the Bengals might like. He notably has a link to current defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo after their days with the Dolphins together.

Hilton’s pitch comes on the heels of earlier news that the Bengals submitted an offer to another free agent who chose to sign elsewhere as they seek depth options after Chidobe Awuzie’s departure.

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