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Before free agency, speculation had suggested Dre Kirkpatrick could be a cut candidate for the Cincinnati Bengals.
The free-agent signing of Trae Waynes all but confirms it.
Waynes, a former first-round pick, is a boundary corner like Kirkpatrick who is going to get paid enough to start right away all the time. And Kirkpatrick isn’t knocking William Jackson from the other boundary spot.
Unless Waynes shifts inside for some reason, Kirkpatrick is firmly on the hot seat. The former Minnesota Vikings star and Mike Zimmer understudy isn’t perfect but he’s played a big enough role to earn this deal and a cemented role:
The #Bengals sign CB Trae Waynes (6’0 190lbs, 4.31) who is @PFF’s 4th ranked FA cornerback.
Waynes actually graded higher than teammate Xavier Rhodes over the last 2 seasons (69.1 in ‘18, 67.0 in ‘19).
Waynes was worth ~0.2 WAR each of the last 3 seasonshttps://t.co/FPrVNwDzI4
— Evan McPhillips (@emcphil) March 17, 2020
This could leave Kirkpatrick on the outs. He had a 61.7 grade at Pro Football Focus last year. He allowed three touchdowns on 30 targets and is a top-five cap hit for the team in 2020.
Cutting Kirkpatrick now would end up saving around $8 million. And given the absolutely massive money thrown at Waynes, the Bengals would probably like to salvage some of Kirkpatrick’s cap hit.
If Kirkpatrick is out the Bengals probably still need some help in the slot. Darius Phillips has shown some promise but insurance would be nice — meaning potentially another free agent or via the draft.
But for now? The next logical move seems to be getting out of Kirkpatrick’s current cap hit.
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