This will be the fourth offseason since Jessie Bates left, and the search for his replacement continues for the Cincinnati Bengals.

Perhaps one of these players could fit the bill?

Let’s take a look at some of the upcoming free agent safeties for the Bengals to target.

Bryan Cook

Could it be time for Cincinnati native and UC alum Bryan Cook to return home?

The 26-year-old has started for the Chiefs for three seasons. While he did not have any interceptions this season, he had two a year ago. He also has 163 tackles over the past two seasons....

Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase’s All-Pro honor has another layer of greatness under the surface we haven’t seen in 8 years
Chase is one of seven players to be named First Team All-Pro for the second consecutive year this season.

Duke Tobin Makes It Clear: Bengals Will Address Major Weakness This Offseason
In an effort to uncover any plans for what exact area could see the most attention of the defense this offseason, Tobin was asked what traits he is looking for on defense, and he made it clear right away that it is the ability to pressure the quarterback and...

The Cincinnati Bengals closed their 2025 season in a fitting way for how their season went. An ugly loss to the Cleveland Browns wrapped up a season full of late-game collapses and the Bengals not being able to play complementary football for most of the season.

For most of the fans, maybe the sting has started to wear off. Both the Bengals and Browns concluded their disappointing seasons, but they got letters from the NFL that are one last sting of the 2025 season.

Two players from Cleveland were fined for their celebrations after defensive scores. Browns linebacker Devin Bush...

The Cincinnati Bengals recently announced that they are running it back with all of the major figureheads in place for 2026. While that may not be music to the ears for some, a couple of those leadership staples addressed the media this week to share thoughts about 2025 and the vision going forward.

The team’s de facto General Manager, Duke Tobin, spoke on Friday about a number of topics, one of which was the status of the roster going forward. Cincinnati’s defense has had struggles in recent years, but some growth was seen from younger players towards the end of...

On Friday, Cincinnati Bengals Director of Player Personnel Duke Tobin met with the media earlier than usual. Typically, we don’t hear from Tobin until the NFL Scouting Combine in February, but after a huge letdown in 2025, the organization decided to make Tobin available.

When asked about the Bengals’ biggest need this offseason, “pass rush” was the first thing on Tobin’s mind.

After giving Trey Hendrickson a raise this past offseason, he missed over half of the season with hip and core muscle injuries, which was a major blow to the Bengals’ pass rush rotation. As the season went on,...

One constant criticism the Cincinnati Bengals have endured is the tiniest scouting department in the entire NFL. While some teams employ dozens of scouts to keep an eye on players to draft and already on NFL Rosters, the Bengals’ scouting department barely reaches double digits.

They even added two new scouts last season, which still keeps it as well below the league average of roughly 20.

When asked if they would be expanding that department again, Director of Player Personnel Duke Tobin said there were no such plans.

Tobin has often pointed to the idea that collaboration is easier when...

Duke Tobin spoke to the press today and addressed questions about a roster that most believe is nowhere near being a contender.

The de facto GM disagreed.

“We still have a championship team in my mind,” he said. “We have elite world-class players.”

So then what went wrong?

“We had a lot of challenges this year,” Tobin explained. “We navigated some of them as effectively as you could, and then we had challenges elsewhere.”

Tobin then went on to say that the offense was built for Joe Burrow, implying that losing him to injury was a big reason the team...

What Joe Burrow said to Shedeur Sanders after face-off in finale
On the field itself, Sanders spent his rookie year appearing in eight games, completing 56.6 percent of his passes with seven touchdowns and eight interceptions.

After Best Season Yet, Chase Brown Keeps On The Chase During Offseason
This is what you do after catching 69 passes, most ever by a Bengals running back. Until he returns to Paycor Stadium in mid-April for the Bengals’ voluntary spring workouts, Brown’s sounding board is his offseason coach Drew Lieberman, and he knows there’ll be a meeting before he heads to work with...

A semifinal rematch between Oregon and Indiana takes place on Friday night. Indiana came out victorious during the regular season match-up, by a score of 30-20. This should be another closely contested game between two evenly matched teams. Both teams feature a ton of talented draft-eligible prospects.

A’Mauri Washington is a 6’3”, 338-pound defensive tackle for the Ducks. He is a Feldman Freak List member for his insane athleticism at his size. Washington is still developing as a consistent game-wrecker, but has shown tremendous flashes of the potential he possesses. He has an excellent 83.4 run defense grade on the...

The Cincinnati Bengals’ defense has never recovered from losing Jessie Bates to the Atlanta Falcons three years ago.

But they could get their chance in April if Ohio State’s Caleb Downs is still on the board.

NFL Draft expert Field Yates doesn’t see Downs falling outside the top 10. “It’s a rarity for a safety to go this high,” Yates said. “I think Caleb Downs is a rare player.”

The expert calls the safety a “zero-weakness” player and praised his experience. “He’s played at Alabama for a season and then two years at Ohio State,” Yates said. “He’s played under...

The Bengals’ season came to an unceremonious end with their Week 18 loss to the Cleveland Browns. Let’s take one final look at what the rookies put on film.

Shemar Stewart did exactly what Shemar Stewart does. He got to the quarterback, but didn’t get sacks. Stewart hit the quarterback twice, but just as the ball was leaving his hands. He had a chance for a tackle on a running play, but, as he often did in college, he lunged rather than bringing his hips through for the tackle, and the play went on.

The Bengals’ first-round pick ended his...

For the past two summers, star defensive end Trey Hendrickson and the Cincinnati Bengals have been at odds with a long-term extension. Hendrickson had a brief holdout of early 2024 workouts, but put it aside, only to have a historic season.

In 2025, Hendrickson’s contract impasse was more pronounced and received much more national attention after his 17.5-sack campaign. After sitting out training camp, Hendrickson returned shortly before the regular season after a pay bump for 2025. Unfortunately, he was injured in Week 6 and didn’t appear in another game after Week 8 versus the Jets.

As the Bengals enter...