CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Bengals have some key holes to fill in free agency this offseason after missing the playoffs following back-to-back AFC North division titles and runs to the AFC Championship Game.
Cincinnati has roughly $48 million to work with under the NFL salary cap, but not all of its key decisions will involve signing guys who played for different teams in 2023.
After using the franchise tag on Tee Higgins and extending tenders to exclusive rights free agents Jake Browning and Cal Adomitis, Cincinnati has 16 of its own free agents to consider re-signing.
Which internal free agents will the Bengals prioritize when the market opens?
Who Are the Bengals’ Upcoming Free Agents?
WR Tee Higgins
The 2020 second-round pick isn’t going to be a free agent after the Bengals used the franchise tag on Higgins and earmarked $21.8 million of their available cap space to him. But we’ll include him here with his status still somewhat up the air.
Cincinnati has until July 15 to work out an extension with Higgins. Otherwise, he’ll play 2024 on the tag, or they can opt to trade him.
ESPN’s Dan Graziano said people he talked to at the NFL Combine thought Cincinnati implemented the tag well ahead of the deadline so they could trade him. None of that came from anyone with the Bengals.
The team certainly will listen to offers, but it would be another team going above and beyond expected compensation for the Bengals to consider it.
The preference from all sides, front office, coaches, locker room, is to have Higgins on the field with Ja’Marr Chase and Joe Burrow this season.
OT Jonah Williams
Jonah Williams had the best season of his career after making the switch to right tackle following the acquisition of Orlando Brown Jr. last March.
Williams is as good as gone. He wants to be a left tackle, so even if the Bengals were the top bidder (which they wouldn’t be), Williams would go somewhere to play his desired position.
DT DJ Reader
Had DJ Reader stayed healthy through the end of the season, he would be in the same category as Williams with almost no chance of returning. He’s an elite defensive tackle who would have been in high demand despite being on the wrong side of 30.
The right quad tear — more specifically, the timing of it — changed everything. Reader isn’t expected to be fully cleared until closer to training camp. Will a team be willing to bank on Reader making another full recovery after suffering the same injury to his left quad in 2020 and sign him in March or April?
Maybe. If not, Reader could still be available in July when most teams are up against the cap, which would enable the Bengals to swoop in and re-sign him on a team-friendly, incentive-laden contract.
CB Chidobe Awuzie
Like Reader, Chidobe Awuzie’s value extends far beyond the playing field. Defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo hammered the point of needing three players capable of starting at outside corner, which Cincinnati would have by bringing back Awuzie to work with Cam Taylor-Britt and DJ Turner.
But there are positions of greater need, and the Bengals could elect to find their No. 3 outside corner, if it isn’t Dax Hill, with a more affordable free agent or an early-round draft pick.
WR Tyler Boyd
Tyler Boyd is the longest-tenured player on the team, but he’ll be 30 in November, and the Bengals drafted his replacement in the slot last year in Charlie Jones.
MORE: Top Free Agent Wide Receivers 2024
If the market for Boyd isn’t what he’s expecting, a return to Cincinnati to make another run at a Super Bowl with Burrow could be a possibility. But more than likely, Boyd will be catching passes from someone else in 2024.
TE Tanner Hudson
The Bengals don’t have any tight ends under contract for 2024. And of the ones who were on the roster last year, Tanner Hudson is the best bet to return. A few of the others could join him.
Hudson took advantage of Irv Smith Jr.’s inability to produce by smashing his career highs with 39 catches for 359 yards and a touchdown, despite playing only 50% of the snaps even after he became a regular in the rotation at midseason.
Hudson’s one of two restricted free agents on the list, which means the Bengals can match any offers from another team.
TE Drew Sample
No team has run more snaps out of 11 personnel than the Bengals in the last five years, and Drew Sample is the best blocking tight end option for Zac Taylor’s offense.
No other team is going to value Sample as much as the Bengals do. We saw it last year during his first foray into free agency when Cincinnati was able to bring him back for just $1.2 million. Expect a similar deal this offseason.
OL Max Scharping
For a team desperate to build depth on the offensive line, re-signing Max Scharping, who can play center, guard, or tackle, should be a lock.
Scharping has played 79 games with 33 starts in his career, and the Bengals were able to retain him last year for just $1.3 million. He should be back on a similar deal this year.
OL Cody Ford
A bargain signing last year for $1.1 million, Cody Ford quickly established himself in training camp as the best backup tackle on the roster. He might have been the first guard off the bench as well, but the need never arose as all five Bengals started every game.
KEEP READING: Top Free Agent Interior Offensive Linemen 2024
Ford had played 66 games with 33 starts in his career and would be an affordable depth piece.
LB Akeem Davis-Gaither
One of three free agent linebackers, Akeem Davis-Gaither played nearly three times as many defensive snaps as Joe Bachie and Markus Bailey combined.
Davis-Gaither has always played a bigger role in games against Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens, and he’s been one of Darrin Simmons’ top special teams performers since he arrived.
Other Bengals 2024 Free Agents
- WR Trenton Irwin
- TE Irv Smith Jr.
- DT Josh Tupou
- RB Trayveon Williams
- LB Joe Bachie
- LB Markus Bailey
- TE Mitch Wilcox
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