03-13-2023, 09:24 PM
(03-13-2023, 09:22 PM)samhain Wrote: Well, I still think there's a chance that this can pan out. There's some logic to the road they're going down. Jesse's deal was a non-starter here. He just wasn't a guy they were ever going to sink that kind of coin into. It's another symptom of having a lot of really good players and not being able to keep all of them forever. On a shittier Bengal roster, he'd have been a must-sign. Well, idk. His agent was kind of a prick.Might wanna sign Jamel Dean one of the best man CB's avilable while you can.
I'm a huge Bell fan, but if you told me it would take 10 mil per to retain him I'd have passed too.
I feel like the best path might be for Hill to replace Bell. Find a free safety to fill in Bates' role, and move forward. Dax may not be on Bell's level yet, but I think his ceiling is much higher than Vonn's.
On a less positive note, this sucks for Lou Anarumo. He's tasked with replacing both safeties while already being saddled with good but not great corners, the best one being a huge question mark due to injury. He'll have his work cut out for him getting the new-look secondary up to speed vs a loaded AFC.
His stock as a head coaching candidate could take a massive hit if this defense drops off and the magic isn't there anymore. They don't exactly generate a ton of pressure, so they will need whoever steps in to cover extensively.
