#Bengals inactives include Tee Higgins (hamstring) and Chidobe Awuzie (shoulder/calf). Both free agents at the end of the season.

WR Tee Higgins
CB Chidobe Awuzie
RB Chris Evans
OL Trey Hill
OL D’Ante Smith
TE Irv Smith
DT Travis Bell

— Paul Dehner Jr. (@pauldehnerjr) January 7, 2024

Now that the Steelers won. Who needs to win this weekend to eliminate the Steelers?

Well, I thought I'd start an off-season roster thread a bit early. I apologize for abandoning the 2023 thread mid-season. I admit I lost my appetite once Burrow went down. Will try to be better this seaon.

Here is our roster heading Into the last game.

A. 53 Man Roster

I. Offense = 26
QB (2): Browning, McCarron
RB (4): Mixon, T. Williams, C. Brown, Evans
WR (6): Chase, Higgins, Boyd; Irwin, Iosivas, C. Jones
TE (4): D. Sample, I. Smith, Hudson, Wilcox
OT (5): O. Brown, J. Williams, Ford, Carman, D. Smith
OG (3/4): Cappa, Volson, Scharping (Ford)
C (2): Karras, T. Hill

II. Defense = 24
DE (5): Hendrickson, Hubbard, C. Sample, Murphy, Ossai
NT/DT (5): BJ Hill, Tupou, Carter, Tufele, Bell
LB (6): Wilson, Pratt; ADG, Bailey, Bachie, Harper
CB (5): CTB, Awuzie, Hilton; Turner, J. Davis
S (3): Battle, D. Hill; Scott

III. Specials
PK: McPherson
P: Robbins
LS: Adomitis

B. Injured Reserve
1. Burrow, QB
2. Reader, NT
3. Ivey, CB
4. Anderson, S
--------
5. Cochran, OT, PS
6. Marshall, DT/NT, PS
7. Kirkland, OL, PS

C. Practice Squad = 15
1. QB: Plitt
2. RB: Felton
3. WR: Morgan
4. WR: Jackson
5. WR: Lassiter II
6. WR: Pryor
7. TE: Gentry
8. C: Gilliam
9. DE: Gunter
10. DT: D. Davis
11. LB: Johnston
12. LB: Heyward
13: CB: S. Jones
14. CB: George
15. S: M. Thomas

.

Feel free to chime in with any Pros or Cons or warranted JEERS.  Just wanted to get the ball rolling.

Idea 1:  Sign DT Chris Jones away from the Chiefs this offseason Free Agency at an estimated $28.1 million per year. (3 year deal)
            (Let Tyler Boyd & DJ Reader leave to help pay for it. Reader may not be fully healthy early next season. Add a Nose DT & WR in Draft)

Idea 2:  Trade Tee Higgins for Draft picks then package some picks to go up an get Marvin Harrison Jr on a rookie deal.
             (Losing this week to the Browns would give the Bengals a higher pick and make this easier to do)
             This move lets another Team pay Tee while replacing him with what should be a similar, younger and less expensive talent.

The Trade for Christian McCaffrey to the 49ers seemed to Transform their Offense.
Maybe there is a move the Bengals could make.

*Please POST any BOLD ideas that you think could Transform the Bengals or set them up for Greater Success ?

"As for his own contract negotiations, as he becomes eligible for an extension, Chase said, “Lord knows I want to do that.”.
Asked if Justin Jefferson needs to sign first before he will sign, Chase responded, “Hell, yeah,” and laughed.
Chase offered an idea of what he will be looking for from the office in terms of the structure of the contract.
“Probably just up front (guaranteed money), for real,” Chase said."


Really hope the guaranteed money that Chase want's isn't the barrier to getting him signed. Lord knows the Bengals are stingy with their guaranteed money.

Which high-end free agent should the Bengals decide to prioritize (pick one)?
Jonah Williams RT $16M – fills hole with a a known quantity
Justin Madubuike DT $22M - good improving player with huge year
Tee Higgins WR $20M – Keep him in the fold and happy.
Jaylon Johnson CB $20M – the best CB free agent and arguably in the league.
Brian Burns DE $22M – 45 sacks in 5 years
.. or someone else

My pick: A premier CB upgrades the whole DB room.

A survey of players conducted by the NFL Players Association placed Brian Callahan as the 4th best offensive coordinator in the NFL. 864 offensive players participated and this was the top five:

Frank Smith, Miami Dolphins

Thomas Brown, Carolina Panthers

Brian Schottenheimer, Dallas Cowboys

Brian Callahan, Cincinnati Bengals

Kellen Moore, Los Angeles Chargers

The NFLPA only released the top 5 at this point, partially to "highlight and help strong head-coach candidates in the interview cycle," and partially to "avoid playoff-bound teams whose coordinators might have rated low from having to deal with that as an issue ahead of playoff games."

Also rated were the top five defensive coordinators and special team coordinators, but none of the Bengals coaches placed among the top five in those categories. The full list will be revealed closer to the combine in late February/early March.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/39241201/nflpa-survey-identifies-top-coordinators-ahead-hiring-cycle

First 4 games started kind of slow after that we haven't had that kind of production out of LT spot since prime Whitworth

This chart reveals:

X.  Average Receiver Separation (X Axis).
The big difference is how much Separation receivers actually have.  Joe & Jake are basically in the same offense, the difference is likely due to Joe's arm strength, timing, accuracy and ball-placement.

Y.  Throws to an Open Receiver (Y Axis).

Only a slight difference between Burrow and Browning when it comes to throwing to an open receiver.  
It is concerning how middle of the road we are even with Burrow. The Ravens could not have schemed any better, major reversal for them.

Separation isn't a WR metric, but it is a Scheme and QB metric.





credit Goodberry.