After missing the playoffs on the heels of back-to-back deep playoff runs to two AFC Championship Games and Super Bowl 56, the Cincinnati Bengals are hoping their 2024 free agent class can help put them in contention for the franchise’s first championship.
If one or more of them can challenge to be included among the best signings in team history, the Bengals could be poised to win a third division title in four years – and possibly more.
To be eligible for this list, it has to be a free agent signing. So waiver claims are not included. If they were, center Rich Braham (146 games, 142 starts) certainly would make the Top 10, and quarterback Jeff Blake would be in the conversation.
The list also doesn’t include undrafted college free agents, as that’s simply an extension of the draft, nor does it feature re-signings or extensions.
Five of the top 10 signings in team history were part of Super Bowl teams, while one never got to play in the postseason during his time in Cincinnati.
Let’s look at the top 10 signings in Cincinnati Bengals history.
Ranking the Greatest Signings in Cincinnati Bengals History
Honorable mention (listed alphabetically): Chidobe Awuzie, Alex Cappa, Kyle Cook, Shayne Graham, Mike Hilton, Tory James, Dhani Jones, Ted Karras, Jon Kitna, Terence Newman, Mike Nugent, John Thornton, Bobbie Williams.
10) Lee Johnson (1988)
Shortly after the rival Cleveland Browns cut Johnson in 1988, the Bengals signed him. A few months later, Johnson set a Super Bowl record with a 63-yard punt in the 20-16 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XXIII.
Johnson went on to play 169 of his 259 games with the Bengals during an 18-year career.
His time in Cincinnati ended in 1998 when he criticized ownership and wondered aloud why fans would still keep buying tickets after a home loss to the Bills dropped the team to 2-11. The Bengals cut him the next day.
Johnson departed as the franchise leader in every punting category, and he remains ranked second in career punts and career punting yards and third in best season average.
9) Clark Harris (2008)
Only three players in franchise history have appeared in more games for the team, and it’s doubtful any other Bengal can boast of being a Guinness World Record title holder.
The team signed Clark Harris one week after he was released by Houston in 2008 and had him handle the long-snapping duties a few days later against his former team. It was his first of 202 games with the Bengals, during which he put together an incredible streak of 1,878 playable snaps.
Harris went to the Pro Bowl after the 2017 season, where he set the then-world record for the longest snap at 36 yards and eight inches. And despite playing one of the most anonymous positions in football, Harris was a fan favorite for more than a decade due to his long hair and huge personality.
Happy Birthday to the long-snapping, mullet-flowing, handle-bar-mustaching, world-record-breaking… The one and only, Clark Harris. pic.twitter.com/PfTHBJnI3Q
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) July 10, 2022
8) Vonn Bell (2020)
One of the first free agent signings of the Zac Taylor era, Vonn Bell made as much of an impact on the culture of the locker room as he did on opponents.
His fumble-forcing hit on Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster on “Monday Night Football” in 2020 is widely revered as the turning point for the Cincinnati franchise.
MORE: Worst Bengals Signings of All Time: From Antwan Odom to Antonio Bryant
Bell’s interception of Patrick Mahomes in the 2021 AFC Championship Game helped send the Bengals to the Super Bowl.
The 2016 second-round pick of the New Orleans Saints is back for Chapter 2 with Cincinnati after spending the 2023 season with the Carolina Panthers.
.@Vonn knocks it out from Pittsburgh TikTok star.
WATCH on ESPN pic.twitter.com/n4BNZHcJ0J
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) December 22, 2020
7) Chip Myers (1969)
A 10th-round pick of the San Francisco 49ers in 1967, Chip Myers spent the 1968 season playing for the Alabama Hawks of the Continental Football League, which is where the Bengals found him.
Cincinnati signed Myers ahead of the 1969 season, and he spent the final eight seasons of his career with the Bengals.
Myers made the Pro Bowl in 1972 after finishing third in receptions and seventh in receiving yards. At the time of his retirement, he ranked second in team history in receptions and third in receiving yards.
His 14.1 yards per catch still ranks 10th in team history among players with at least 200 receptions, just ahead of Ja’Marr Chase’s 13.9.
6) Ashley Ambrose (1996)
Cornerback Ashley Ambrose could make an argument for having the best first season after signing with the Bengals after he recorded eight interceptions and earned the only All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors of his 13-season career.
A second-round pick of the Indianapolis Colts in 1992 — one pick after the Bengals wrapped the first round by selecting safety Darryl Williams — Ambrose signed with Cincinnati in 1996.
Ambrose only played three seasons with the Bengals, but he started 47 of a possible 48 games while recording 13 interceptions.
5) DJ Reader (2020)
DJ Reader paired with Bell as the centerpieces of the 2020 free agent class that helped turn around the franchise, although an unfortunate quadriceps injury in Week 5 ended his first season in Cincinnati early.
Reader returned in 2021 and had arguably the best year of his career while helping lead the Bengals to the Super Bowl.
During his time with the Bengals, the massive run-plugger with sneaky pass-rushing skills played at a Pro Bowl level at a position that doesn’t get much recognition.
"That we're resilient. We got a lot of guys who, when backed into a corner, are ready to fight."@AdamHBeasley asked #Bengals DT D.J. Reader what last year's run revealed about the team 🔊#PFNTCTour pic.twitter.com/b9I7bCzoKz
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) August 4, 2022
4) Cedric Benson (2008)
The No. 4 pick in the 2005 NFL Draft, Cedric Benson struggled for three seasons with the Chicago Bears before they waived him.
The Bengals signed Benson in 2008 and got similar production before his breakout season in 2009 when he rushed for 1,251 yards, eighth most in the league.
It was the start of three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons for Benson, making him one of only three Cincinnati players to accomplish that.
He scored 22 touchdowns during his four years with the Bengals compared to just 10 in his other four seasons in the league.
3) Pacman Jones (2010)
Having missed two of the previous three seasons — one for violation of the NFL’s personal conduct policy in 2007 and one because no one wanted to take a chance on him after more troubling details surfaced in 2009 — Adam “Pacman” Jones found new life in Cincinnati when he signed with the team in 2010.
Reunited with the defensive coordinator whom he played for with the Dallas Cowboys, Jones spent a successful, yet turbulent, eight seasons with the Bengals, earning his only All-Pro nomination in 2014 and a Pro Bowl selection in 2015.
The cornerback was the key piece of a defense that helped Cincinnati make five consecutive playoff berths, and he also was one of the league’s most dangerous kickoff and punt returners during that stretch.
2) Jim Breech (1980)
An eighth-round pick of the Detroit Lions in 1978, Jim Breech didn’t see action in the league until 1979 with the Oakland Raiders, who cut him in the 1980 preseason to sign former Cincinnati kicker Chris Bahr.
The Cleveland Browns initially reached out to Breech about signing with them but never followed up, and the Bengals swooped in with an offer that led to a 13-year career in Cincinnati.
MORE: Pro Football Network’s Top 100 NFL Players of 2024
Breech kicked in two Super Bowls — and would have been the Super Bowl 23 MVP had it not been for the San Francisco 49ers scoring the game-winning touchdown with 34 seconds remaining — and finished in the top 10 in scoring in five seasons.
He converted nine of nine overtime field goals, an NFL record, and his streak of scoring in 186 consecutive games was the second longest in NFL history at the time of his retirement and remains the fifth longest.
Breech, a finalist for the team’s Ring of Honor, remains the franchise’s career-scoring leader with 1,151 points — 372 more than runner-up Shayne Graham.
Is Trey Hendrickson one of the more underrated pass rushers in the NFL, or is Trey Hendrickson one of the more underrated pass rushers in the NFL?pic.twitter.com/cLIj1lWH4V
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) November 17, 2023
1) Trey Hendrickson (2021)
The key signing of the 2021 free agent class, Hendrickson has amassed 39.5 sacks in his three seasons with the Bengals, nearly doubling the 20 he had in four years with the Saints.
Hendrickson has been the most disruptive force on the defense every year he has been in Cincinnati, and he was a big reason why the Bengals went to back-to-back AFC Championship Games and Super Bowl 56 in his two seasons with the team.
Only four players have more sacks than Hendrickson since 2021, and all of them are making considerably more money. The quality of Hendrickson’s play and the value the franchise has gotten from his contract make him an easy choice for the top spot on this list.
Listen to the PFN Bengals Podcast
Listen to the PFN Bengals Podcast! Click the embedded player below to listen, or you can find the PFN Bengals Podcast on iTunes, Spotify, and all major podcast platforms. Be sure to subscribe and leave us a five-star review! Rather watch instead? Check out the PFN Bengals Podcast on our NFL YouTube channel.
