The Bengals have a lot of decisions to make this offseason with 15 unrestricted free agents.
The Cincinnati Bengals failed to win both the division and the postseason for the first time since Joe Burrow’s debut campaign. The Bengals will need to make decisions in the upcoming months regarding a number of free agents and extensions, even though his enormous cap hit won’t become effective until 2025. The Bengals’ free agents for this season are well-known, so losing any of them would be painful.
Currently, 20 Bengals are expected to enter the market: 15 free agents with no restrictions, 3 with restrictions, and 2 with exclusive rights. There is minimal doubt that Cal Adomitis and Jake Browning, the two free agents with exclusive rights, will return. Furthermore, it would be unexpected if the RFAs—Trenton Irwin, Tanner Hudson, and Mitchell Wilcox—were not brought back.
Selecting the Free Agents for the Cincinnati Bengals
Reader, D.J.
D.J. Reader has been the finest Bengals defender not named Jessie Bates and is arguably the best free agent addition in recent memory. Reader was a force to be reckoned with in the run game and pass rush during his day. The latter is peculiar because he wasn’t regarded as a top defensive lineman or nose tackle for pass rushes. The Bengals could not afford to take him off the field because of his exceptional play, and he even encountered a few sacks while doing so.
Reader played in 44 games over four years in Cincinnati, tallying 123 tackles, seven tackles for loss, three sacks, and one forced fumble. For Lou Anarumo’s defence, he even added seven pass breakups and three fumble recoveries.
Reader’s health has been a sticking point. Reader hasn’t been healthy for every game in his four years. His fifteen games in 2021 came the closest. His 2020 campaign was ended after just five games. He participated in ten games in 2022. Reader suffered an injury in the team’s 14th game of the previous campaign. He’s seen 20 weeks in injured reserve and has had ailments that ended his season.
By the time the season premieres in 2024, Reader will be thirty years old, but his influence has been too significant to ignore. It was evident when he was not around. Cost will be an issue because the team is already using up a lot of its cap space on the defensive line. But it would require a herculean effort to replace Reader.
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