This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.
The original was posted on /r/nfl by /u/UsidoreTheLightBlue on 2023-07-30 17:40:32.
Cincinnati Bengals
AFC North
Coaching Changes: Shockingly? None. The Bengals went into the offseason appearing like they were going to lose both OC Brian Callahan and DC Lou Anarumo to head coaching jobs. Despite both of them going deep into interviews with multiple teams both coaches were retained in Cincinnati for another year. This might be the last year that this coaching tree has all of its limbs remain intact.
Free Agency
Players lost/cut
| Player | Cut/Traded | New Team |
|---|---|---|
| Jessie Bates | Contract Expired | Atlanta Falcons |
| Vonn Bell | Contract Expired | Carolina Panthers |
| Hayden Hurst | Contract Expired | Carolina Panthers |
| Tre Flowers | Contract Expired | Atlanta Falcons |
| Brandon Allen | Contract Expired | San Francisco 49ers |
| Samaje Perine | Contract Expired | Denver Broncos |
| Chris Lammons | Contract Expired | Nevada Mean Machine |
| Clay Johnston | Contract Expired | None |
| Elijah Holyfield | Contract Expired | None |
| Clark Harris | Contract Expired | None (Retiring?) |
| Brandon Wilson | Contract Expired | None |
| Kevin Huber | Contract Expired | Retired |
| Tyron Johnson | Contract Expired | Dallas Cowboys |
| Eli Apple | Contract Expired | Miami Dolphins |
Major Losses
Jessie Bates - This is obviously the biggest one. Jessie was a cornerstone of the defense that took the Bengals to the Super Bowl just last year. It was relatively well known coming into this season that there was little to no chance Jessie was re-signing with the team once his franchise year was up. Jessie came into his free agency year and performed as you might expect a player who was heading for free agency to play. His overall tackles were down substantially, but he had a career high 4 interceptions and a forced fumble. Hes going to be a loss for this team.
Vonn Bell - A member of the Bengals 2020 free agency class Vonn Bell made an immediate impact on the team that reverberated for his entire tenure in Cincinnati. Vonn started throughout the entire Super Bowl run and was off to a roaring start last year with four interceptions and two forced fumbles through 9 games before disaster struck and he was injured. Vonn is an absolute impact player who will be missed by the defense as well.
Samaje Perine - Samaje is a player whos impact isnt entirely noticeable on just a cursory glance at the stats. However any further deep dive and you see how good he actually was. With only two starts Samaje amassed 394 rushing yards and 287 receiving yards. He was more than serviceable change of pace back who frankly performed at starter levels at points in the season.
Hayden Hurst - Another player whos numbers don’t quite tell the whole story. Hurst had 414 yards in the regular season which sounds like “mid” tight end numbers, but Hayden was a huge part of the offense. He played in 13 games and had 19 3rd down catches on 22 targets for an average of 7.4 yards per attempt. He also averaged 9.4 yards a catch on 1st down.
Eli Apple - Eli was seen as a backup last year and in the end had to take a much larger role in the team. Most assumed between Mike Hilton, Cam Taylor Britt, and Awuzie that Eli would seldom see the field, and boy most were wrong. Eli started 15 games with the Bengals.
Kevin Huber/Clark Harris - Well this may be one of those things that people look at and say “wow you really consider a punter and long snapper major losses?” Yes. Clark Joined in 2008, and Kevin Joined in 2009 making both guys the last hold outs of the Palmer era.
Clark Harris came into Cincinnati and helped bring stability to a position that frankly had been god awful prior to his arrival. He joined the team and was the long snapper for almost every game from when he joined in 2008 until his unfortunate injury against the Steelers in game one of last year.
Kevin Huber likewise was joined in the Palmer era out of a positional need. He was a draft pick out of the university of Cincinnati and set the record for games played by a Bengal last year at 216.
Both of these guys were invaluable to the franchise through three eras of Bengals football and will be missed.
Players signed
| Player | Position | Signed/Re-signed | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orlando Brown Jr | LT | Signed | 4 Years |
| Germaine Pratt | Linebacker | Re-Signed | 3 Years |
| Nick Scott | Safety | Signed | 3 Years |
| Joe Bachie | Linebacker | Re-Signed | 1 year |
| Jalen Davis | Cornerback | Re-Signed | 2 Years |
| Michael Thomas | Safety | Re-Signed | 1 year |
| Trayveon Williams | Running Back | Re-Signed | 1 year |
| Trent Taylor | Wide Receiver | Re-Signed | 1 year |
| Cody Ford | Offensive Tackle | Signed | 1 year |
| Sidney Jones | Cornerback | Signed | 1 year |
| Irv Smith Jr | Tight End | Signed | 1 year |
| Tarell Bashan | Outside Linebacker | Signed | 1 year |
| Drew Sample | Tight End | Re-Signed | 1 year |
| Trevor Siemian | Quarter Back | Signed | 1 year |
| Mitchell Wilcox | Tight End | Re-Signed | 1 year |
| Trey Hendrickson | Defensive End | Extended | 1 year additional |
This is going to end up being an interesting free agency class. At face value most of the players are either re-signed or depth, however there are definitely going to be some impact players here.
Orlando Brown Jr – The biggest signing of the year shores up the left side of the Bengals offensive line for the next 4 years. Its no secret that the Bengals have had issues with the offensive line and have now spent two off seasons attempting to correct this. Orlando Brown Junior was arguably the best LT in free agency this year and the Bengals getting him and sliding Jonah Williams over to the right side was honestly shocking. If Orlando Brown is able to be the game changer the team thinks he is the Bengals offense should be even better.
Germaine Pratt – I think if you talked to most Bengals fans prior to free agency they’d have told you there was little chance that Pratt was coming back. To re-sign Pratt for 3 years is shoring up the LB position for the next 3 years and put the team into a better position to keep their defense operating at a high level.
Nick Scott – Nick is the immediate answer to replacing Vonn Bell, with the chance of Jordan Battle supplanting him in the future. He’s got big shoes to fill, and had a nice year in 2022 with the Rams with 86 tackles, two interceptions and two forced fumbles, not bad at all for a former 7th round pick.
Irv Smith Jr – This years stop on the “Bengals get a tight end a big contract with another team” train is Irv Smith Jr! Irv was drafted in the second round in 2019 by the Minnesota Vikings. He has 88 receptions for 844 yards and 9 touchdowns in his four year career. After what was done with Hayden Hurst last year I fully expect Irv to put up career highs in receptions, touchdowns, and yards, then for him to leave in free agency for 3/20.
Draft Results
| Round | Player | Position | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Myles Murphy | Edge | Clemson |
| 2 | DJ Turner | Cornerback | Michigan |
| 3 | Jordan Battle | Safety | Alabama |
| 4 | Charlie Jones | Wide Receiver | Purdue |
| 5 | Chase Brown | Running Back | Illinois |
| 6 | Andrei Iosivas | Wide Receiver | Princeton |
| 6 | Brad Robbins | Punter | Michigan |
| 7 | DJ Ivey | Cornerback | Miami |
I’m going to break these guys down into categories.
Immediate Contributors:
Myles Murphy - I fully expect Murphy to have a big role this year. I don’t know if he starts at all, and to an extent I don’t think he does, but I expect him to get significant playing time at some point this year. One story that has come out in the offseason was from the Bengals strength coach about the fact that Murphy did 20 straight pull ups at his game weight of 280lbs then proceeded to run 20.1mph (GPS tracked).
DJ Turner - With the loss of Eli Apple even with the return of Awuzie I expect second rounder DJ Turner to see significant playing time early. He reportedly ran the fastest 40 yard dash at the combine and should help improve the speed of a group that often felt like it got burned when Apple was targeted.
Brad Robbins - As I mentioned previously the Bengals parted ways with Kevin Huber who has in turn retired. Drue Chrisman took over as the Punter for the Bengals and was serviceable but not what I would call elite. You don’t invest a draft pick in a punter unless you think they have real talent. The Bengals have a training camp battle with Chrisman and Robbins for the punter of the future, if Robbins wins out he will be an immediate contributor this year.
Possible Contributors this year:
Jordan Battle - With the addition of Nick Scott Battle doesn’t have to be an immediate starter and that may be good. It will allow him to ease into the league. Battle has been quiet for the most part this off season but alabama fans rave about him. He could force his way into the starting line up if things fall his way.
Chase Brown - The restructured deal for Mixon means the Bengals aren’t necessarily looking for a new lead back right now. When Brown has talked to reporters hes talked about working on his run blocking more than anything else with pass catching short behind it. It sounds like theres a good chance he has already been told to plan on being a 3rd down back early on. If he has a role similar to Perine this ye…
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