good news:foresees lucrative deals for five Bengals free agents…….
A wealth of talent from the Cincinnati Bengals is expected to become available as a free agency in 2024.
Having so many excellent players to pay out at the end of their contracts is a drawback of having such a strong draft class. Logan Wilson, Joe Burrow, and Germaine Pratt are all expected to be around for a few years, so another 2020 NFL Draft selection might be quite lucrative.
The Top 100 NFL Free Agents, along with contract projections for each, were announced by Pro Football Focus. Brad Spielberger included five Bengals in his Top 100 list.
Tee Higgins, who is ranked No. 4, is the highest. Spielberger believes Higgins will receive the franchise tag, so he doesn’t have a long-term contract breakdown.
After recording his second consecutive 1,000-yard season in 2022 with a receiving grade above 75.0, Spielberger stated that Higgins’s 2023 season has been nearly entirely limited by injuries. “A franchise tag already appeared likely going into the season, and it appears certain given the lack of new information that could influence the talks in any manner. After a dismal season, the field-stretching, jump-ball receiver ought to have the opportunity to recover in 2024 with the Bengals as a whole.
Next on the list was defensive tackle D.J. Reader of the Bengals, who came in at number 19. Spielberger has agreed to give Reader a $45.75 million, three-year contract that works out to $15.25 million annually. A total of $29.75 million is promised in that prediction.
Spielberger clarified, “The only thing that has stopped Reader in Cincinnati is injuries.”
Even though Reader has a torn quad, PFF still seems to believe he will make a good salary.
Spielberger had Chidobe Awuzie at number 26. He is expected to sign a two-year, $23 million contract for $11.5 million annually, with a total of $13.75 million in guarantees.
“Awuzie was one of the Cincinnati Bengals’ many easy free-agent signings in recent years, giving the team a legitimate No. 1 outside cornerback for only $7.25 million a year,” said Spielberger. “Awuzie should be exploring free agency once more, given the Bengals have used four Day 2 picks on defensive backs over the last two draft classes, and he tore his ACL in 2022. However, in 2023, he made a good comeback to form.
“After the Bengals signed free agent tackle Orlando Brown Jr. to take over on the left side, Williams requested a trade this past offseason. However, he eventually withdrew the request and went back to work honing his craft at right tackle, where he hadn’t started since his undergraduate days in college at Alabama,” Spielberger said. “Throughout 2023, the former first-round choice has maintained his health and consistently demonstrated above-average pass protection. Given the dearth of good tackle play across the league, Williams, although not having the ceiling many anticipated coming out of college, should fare reasonably well in unrestricted free agency as a high-floor pass-blocker with a strong background.
Tyler Boyd, the 74th-best free agent in the class, is the final Bengal on the list. One would imagine the Bengals could make it work with a projected $8.75 million annually on a two-year, $17.5 million contract. The problem might lie in the $10.75 million promised in total.
Spielberger said, “Boyd is a big slot receiver with solid run game blocking chops.” On crucial passing downs, he does a good job of sitting in soft places in zones and hardly ever drops a target. Boyd, though, is expected to have a career low in all categories in 2023, and Cincinnati has a lot of important financial decisions to make, so the Bengals might not be as eager to offer him as other teams hoping to.
