For the first time since Joe Burrow’s rookie year, the Cincinnati Bengals missed out on winning the division and the playoffs altogether. While his massive cap hit isn’t set to take hold until 2025, the Bengals have a number of free agents and extensions to make decisions on in the coming months. This year’s Bengals free agents are well-known and it would hurt to lose any.
As it stands, 20 Bengals are set to hit the market (15 unrestricted free agents, three restricted, and two exclusive rights). The two exclusive rights free agents are going to come back (Cal Adomitis and Jake Browning), there’s little doubt there. And, it would be surprising if the RFAs (Mitchell Wilcox, Tanner Hudson, and Trenton Irwin) were not brought back.
Of the UFA, there are five important pieces who could be playing elsewhere in 2024.
Deciding the Cincinnati Bengals Free Agents
D.J. Reader
Quite possibly the best free agent signing in recent memory, D.J. Reader has been the best Bengals defender not named Jessie Bates. In his time, Reader’s presence was felt both in the run game as well as in the pass rush. The latter is odd considering he was not considered a top pass-rushing defensive tackle/nose tackle. He was just so good that the Bengals could not afford to take him off the field and he even ran into a few sacks along the way.
In four years in Cincinnati, Reader appeared in 44 games and totaled 123 tackles, seven tackles for loss, three sacks, and forced a fumble. He even added seven pass breakups and recovered three fumbles for Lou Anarumo’s defense.
The rub with Reader has been health. In his four years, Reader has not been healthy for every game. The closest was his 15 games in 2021. His 2020 season was cut short after five games. In 2022, he played 10 games. This past season, Reader was injured in the team’s 14th game. He’s spent 20 weeks on IR and suffered season-ending injuries twice.
Reader will be 30 by the time the season kicks off in 2024 but his impact has been too great to ignore. When he was out, it was obvious. Cost will be the concern considering the team already has a lot of cap space tied up on the defensive line. However, replacing Reader would take a Herculean effort.
Decision: Re-sign
Tyler Boyd
One of the three amigos in the receiver corps, Tyler Boyd has been one of the leaders of the Cincinnati Bengals ever since the team drafted him back in 2016.
Boyd has suited up for eight seasons in Cincinnati and has been one of the best silver linings in an era of disappointment early on in his career. Then, as the team got better, he was a reliable slot receiver for the Bengals, often the go-to third-down receiver.
In total, he hauled in 513 (fitting, as 513 is the Cincinnati area code) passes for an even 6,000 yards and 31 touchdowns. Of his 640 targets since 2018, Boyd dropped a grand total of 20 passes. It’s not hyperbole to say Boyd was one of the most sure-handed receivers in the NFL since being drafted by the Bengals with a 5.8% drop rate.
Recency bias has had a number of fans ready to pull the plug on Boyd due to a crucial drop in the Super Bowl as well as a drop in the loss against the Texans this year. There is a belief that he lost a step. However, the Bengals would do well to bring Boyd back especially if they don’t bring back another high-flying receiver.
Alas, it would be understandable if Boyd is playing elsewhere. Regardless, Boyd would be worth the third contract, even if it’s short.
Decision: Re-sign
Chidobe Awuzie
Another underrated signing of late, Chidobe Awuzie was a solid corner for the Dallas Cowboys prior to signing with the Bengals in 2021. Since joining the Bengals defense, Awuzie was a sneaky-great corner who stepped up when they needed him most.
In his three years, Awuzie tallied 156 tackles, six of which were for loss, logged 25 pass breakups, forced a pair of fumbles, and hauled in two interceptions. During the Super Bowl, Awuzie forced an interception on the Rams’ first play from scrimmage in the second half to set Joe Burrow and the offense up with a short field.
It cannot be debated that Awuzie was an underrated CB1 prior to his ACL injury in 2022. He missed the team’s final nine games as well as the playoff run, obviously. As for 2023, it looked like Awuzie had lost a step. He was not quite as fast and was not as able to react to opposing receivers. While he was not officially passed up on the depth chart, the CB1 duties slowly became Cam Taylor-Britt’s as the season went on.
Awuzie’s market likely won’t be as strong as it was in 2021 and the team will likely look to move on from him due to the draft capital they’ve invested in the position. Taylor-Britt and D.J. Turner look to be the top two corners in the room with Mike Hilton (who will hopefully be extended) in the slot and Dax Hill coming down from the safety spot.
It’s possible that Awuzie finds his way back on this Bengals roster if his market dries up. As for now, he should walk.
Decision: Walk
Jonah Williams
The last first-round offensive lineman selection by the Bengals was none other than Jonah Williams. Perhaps one of the biggest targets of fans’ ire over the last few years, Williams anchored the left tackle position for four years and flipped over to right tackle in 2023.
After missing his entire rookie season due to a torn labrum suffered during his workouts for the NFL Draft, Williams started off the 2020 season as the starting left tackle. He started 10 games before suffering a season-ending knee injury. Since then, he played in 16 games in 2021, 16 in 2022, and all 17 last year. Last year, he managed to dislocate both of his kneecaps in games against the Ravens including once in the Wild Card round.
The thing about all of this is the fact that the Bengals have fielded awful offensive lines in the Burrow-Taylor era. Being solid or even league-average is still going to be viewed as bad. His sack numbers (vs team total) are:
2020: 3 (48)
2021: 8 (55)
2022: 12 (44)
2023: 8 (50)
These numbers aren’t great by any means, considering he led the league in 2022. However, Burrow’s play style often begets sacks, they don’t bother him, and, as a tackle, Williams faces off against better pass-rushing talent than he otherwise would on the interior.
The sticking point with re-signing Williams is two-fold. First, he’s shown his ability to play both tackle positions. He believes that he is a left tackle, so he’s going to want left tackle money. Someone is going to pay for his services, even if he’s just decent. Secondly, there was some drama with the Bengals signing Orlando Brown, Jr. Williams even requested a trade.
Perhaps the bridge is still burnt. Perhaps the relationship has been mended over the last 10 months. Regardless, while the Bengals should re-sign Williams, he will likely be playing elsewhere.
Decision: Walk (but try to keep)
Tee Higgins
By far, the biggest Bengals free agent to hit the market is Tee Higgins. The Robin to Ja’Marr Chase’s Batman, Higgins has been an elite pass-catcher for the Bengals offense for four years after being selected 33rd in the same draft that netted Burrow. Higgins is going to be a hot commodity on the free market as he is a bonafide WR1.
Across his four years in Cincinnati, Higgins amassed 3,684 yards and 24 touchdowns off of 257 receptions. In both 2021 and 2022, Higgins surpassed 1,000 yards which is impressive considering all of the targets going to Chase as well. Additionally, the talented receiver went off for a total of 457 yards and three touchdowns off of 31 receptions in seven playoff games. None were bigger than his four-catch, 100-yard, two-touchdown game in the Super Bowl.
Higgins is one of the best receivers in the NFL, so the possibility of pairing him up with Chase for a few more years has to be exciting.
The biggest concern with Higgins is injuries. 2023 was easily his worst as he was hampered by multiple different injuries. Dating back to his Clemson days, Higgins has suffered four separate hamstring injuries, three ankle injuries, a shoulder injury, a concussion, and some broken ribs.
Of course, his critics point to 2023 that he’s not worth bringing back. Living with broken ribs is incredibly difficult. Now imagine playing football at the highest level all while defenders are constantly trying to take advantage of the injury.
Another bump in the road is the relationship – or lack thereof – between the Bengals and Higgins’ agent, David Mulugheta. Mulugheta is great at his job and represents scores of highly paid players.
If there is no real road to an extension, the Bengals must do what they can to both fortify the team and prolong the Super Bowl window. Cincinnati will tag Higgins for 2024. However, if they feel like they’re going to get burnt as they did with Jessie Bates, they need to take a hard look at a tag-and-trade to net something better than a third-round compensatory pick.
Decision: Franchise Tag
Main Image: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
