2024 Bengals Free Agency/Roster Thread

[The D.O.Z.]

(03-02-2024, 12:54 PM)Isaac Curtis: The Real #85 Wrote: Oh, they have space. Oodles. The whispers are he does not want to be there. He does not have an agent at present, having recently fired his. Though if that was coming from agent or player is unclear. 

I think the (unlikely) path to him hitting FA is if he does not want to be there AND they decide they don't want a potential malcontent (T. Brown), even if he is a good player. They are rebuilding and likely want to reset the culture post Bill B. 

They have all sorts of options at #3. Take QB. Trade down with a QB needy team that want the last highly rated guy for more picks. They can pay Dugger and some more vets to come in and reset the culture, like we did. 

We can dream until Tuesday, though. 

I think the most likely FA scenario is something like: 

1) Tee plays in the tag ($21.8). 
2) NT: Reader back ($10 mil-ish) 
3) DT:  L. Williams (if we sign an older guy, $15) 
----------$20 mil left-------- 
4) S: vet FS for value. Scott waived. 

Those are the ones I'd really pursue hard. Those are all gonna be older guys. So we will see if we break tradition there. I think we will. Mixin did a restructure last year! 

After that, we could go several different ways. 

5) Lower tier RT (Smith, Brown, Eluemunor). 
Frees up #18 and a trade down possibility if the plug & play guys (Fuaga & Latham) are gone. Trade down, get extra picks, pick Mims/Guyton. Or stay and take Bowers or Murphy or the best CB on the board. 

6) P: Townsend. 

7) RB: waive Mixon for space (unlikely without replacement in hand), sign Barkley/Henry. 

8) Do some restructures to free space. 

9) And use it to go get: TE, IOL uogrades or bring back Chido/Boyd. 

Valid points, but I just don't foresee them letting both of their OTs hit free agency in the same off-season. Brown, yes. He's almost certainly out due to attitude and age probably. But a versatile, young, still-ascending offensive lineman in a league starving for quality offensive line play? They'll overpay if they have to, and sell him on "new coach, culture change" and "the grass isn't always greener elsewhere". I would almost bet my house on it I'm so sure of it.

I would LOVE to have him, and hope I'm wrong. But we've seen this song and dance too many times before to put ANY eggs into that basket!