NFL Trade Rumors
Projected Cap Space: $43.2 million
Draft Picks: 6
Notable Free Agents:
1 – Defensive Tackle
When conducting an autopsy of the Bengals’ 2024 season, one of the chief culprits in why Cincinnati failed to make the playoffs was a lackluster defense. The Bengals ranked 25th in both scoring defense and total defense last year. From a down-to-down basis, they were okay, ranking 15th in success rate allowed. But Cincinnati allowed far too many explosive plays, struggled in run defense and couldn’t get to the quarterback outside of star DE Trey Hendrickson who led the entire NFL with 17.5 sacks.
The whole defense is due for a face-lift under new DC Al Golden, with plenty of aging players and expiring free agents. But the Bengals should start at defensive tackle. They signed Sheldon Rankins to replace D.J. Reader and that move was a whiff. Rankins struggled before catching an illness in November that knocked him out for the rest of the season. He’s a likely cut candidate and with Hill set for free agency, Cincinnati needs at least one more starter even after double-dipping last year with second-round DT Kris Jenkins Jr. and third-round DT McKinnley Jackson.
2 – Wide Receiver
If the Bengals can find a way to bring back Higgins, that would solve the potential issue here. It’s certainly something QB Joe Burrow has been lobbying hard for, and it’s at least interesting that Higgins changed agents, going from David Mulugheta who Cincinnati has had a hard time negotiating with in recent years to the same agent as fellow WR Ja’Marr Chase who’s also going to be negotiating a huge deal this year.
But at some point, the economics of paying Burrow $55 million a year, Chase over $35 million and Higgins in the neighborhood of $30 million is just hard to get around, particularly for a team like the Bengals that sticks to conventional contract structures. They’ll have to compromise to do it and they are not known for being a flexible franchise.
If Higgins ultimately walks, that creates a huge hole in the receiving corps that no one currently on the roster is equipped to fill. Third-round WR Jermaine Burton had a disastrous rookie season, with more scratches due to team discipline (2) than starts (1). Third-year WR Andrei Iosivas is best suited to be a No. 3 or No. 4 wideout at this point, barring another step in his development. Gesicki was a presence in the games Higgins missed but he’s also...
