The Cincinnati Bengals are reuniting with an old friend, signing him to a one-year, league-minimum contract. That and more can be found in today’s Bengals news.
Cincinnati Bengals News Today
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that safety Vonn Bell would return to the Bengals. Bell spent three years with Cincinnati from 2020-2022 before inking a three-year, $22.5 million contract with $13 million in guarantees with the Carolina Panthers ahead of the 2023 season.
He will receive $6 million of the $13 million of guaranteed money from Carolina. Bell was cut by the Panthers earlier this offseason.
The 29-year-old and Jesse Bates were the starting safeties for the Bengals in 2022. Both were lost in free agency and Cincinnati’s defense suffered for it on the back end. The team went from the No. 23 passing defense in the league in 2022 to the No. 28 passing defense.
Bell played 13 games for Carolina, posting a career-low in tackles (69). He had 42 solo tackles, one quarterback hit, two pass deflections, and an interception in 2023.
Trent Brown Free Agency Predictions
Pro Football Network’s John Fields believes that offensive tackle Trent Brown could be a good fit for the Bengals in free agency. Brown, 30, played 11 games for the New England Patriots and started eight in 2023.
“The Bengals have been linked to Brown for some time, particularly after RT Jonah Williams signed with the Arizona Cardinals this week,” Fields wrote. “Brown played LT each of the last two years in New England, but he also has prior experience at right tackle and could certainly help fill the void left by Williams in Cincinnati.
“Brown’s relationship with Bengals offensive guard Ted Karras and tight end Mike Gesicki, both of whom he played with on the Patriots, could also entice him to join Cincinnati.”
RELATED: Free Agency Predictions
‘It Could’ve Been the Worst Place in the World’ – Mike Gesicki Was Always a Bengal
Mike Gesicki had strong production in his first five seasons with the Miami Dolphins. He posted 231 receptions for 2,617 yards and 18 touchdowns with the club. After signing with the Patriots in 2023, his numbers tailed off, catching 29 passes for 244 yards and two touchdowns.
When the opportunity came to play with quarterback Joe Burrow and the Bengals, Gesicki couldn’t turn away from it. He signed a one-year, $2.5 million deal with the team to aid Burrow, who is coming off of a season-ending wrist injury.
“Since the day the season ended, I’ve been talking about Cincinnati, just because I knew the opportunity it presents,” Gesicki said, via Morrison.
“There’s not many opportunities out there with the type of offense, with the type of quarterback play that this place presents,” Gesicki continued. “So the second it happened, the second they called, I was like, ‘Halle, we might be going to Cincinnati.’ And she was just as excited as me because she knows how important it is to me.”
The Bengals will enter 2024 with tight end Drew Sample also on the roster. Sample had 22 receptions for 163 yards and two touchdowns last season.
CONTINUE READING: Bengals or Bust for Gesicki
Did the Bengals Make a Mistake by Picking Sheldon Rankins Over D.J. Reader?
The Bengals decided to let nose tackle D.J. Reader depart in free agency to the Detroit Lions. Reader manned the position for four years in Cincinnati, compiling 123 tackles (68 solo), seven tackles for loss, 20 quarterback hits, three sacks, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, and seven pass deflections.
His replacement is former Houston Texans defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins. Rankins signed a two-year, $26 million deal with Cincinnati on Wednesday night, receiving just $1.5 million less than what Rankins got from the Lions. The 29-year-old Rankins played 15 games for Houston in 2023, making 37 tackles (29 solo), nine tackles for loss, 10 quarterback hits, one forced fumble, and a fumble recovery for a touchdown.
They play different roles along the interior, but Cincinnati needed an impact up the middle. Morrison wonders if it was right to let Reader walk in favor of Rankins.
“But offering Reader what the team gave Rankins could have kept him in Cincinnati, something he said he was hopeful would happen when the season ended,” Morrison wrote.
KEEP READING: Why Cincinnati Let Reader Leave
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