03-17-2021, 02:36 PM
(03-17-2021, 02:02 PM)fredtoast Wrote: 35 million in savings and 8 holes to fill.
Many fans believe that the Bengals can jut go out and pick and choose whatever free agent they want to sign. but just because some player signs with another team at a certain price that does not mean the Bengals could have gotten him.
BY the time you fill the 8 holes created by these players you are not going to have as much savings as you think. Geno is the only one where you potentially have big savings. Bobby Hart was the 40th ranked OT by PFF and will be the 32nd highest paid OT. So you are not guaranteed to get a much better player cheaper. You might save a million each on Gio and CJ, but the guys you sign for cheaper are not going to upgrade the roster very much. The others are already at close to market value.
So why take the risk of cutting that many players while not even knowing for sure that you can get better players at a lower price. What if we cut Trae and no other starting OC wants to sign here for less?
I agree with this. We have to have players to have a roster to put on the field. FA is a two way street. You have to want a player and the player has to want to play for your team at the price you are willing to pay. We did make a run for Zeitler, but he didnt come here. We may have tried to sign other players also. But it has to line up on both sides.
As far as Hart goes, I dont see us cutting him unless maybe after we draft Sewell, and Hart may be retained even then as a backup or insurance for a developing Sewel who sat out 2020 season. Ive been on the Hart hater bandwagon since we signed him, but I also recognize that he had his best season last year and looked better as the OG play next to him improved. We may keep him or cut him later, like the June 1st cuts. But right now if we cut him we have a big hole to fill because we dont have much depth on the OL either. Can we get a good RT to come here from FA? I hope so, but the list is getting thinner. My gut feeling says they are hoping to get Sewell or Slater.
We could have all the cap space in the world, but there still have to be players to fill the roles we need them for and those players have to be willing to sign here.
