So 1 Bengals free agent has decided his future. Safety Ricardo Allen has announced his retirement. He plans to transition into coaching. Maybe we will see him as an addition to our coaching staff

Bengals safety Ricardo Allen just announced he’s retiring from playing in the NFL. (Via @Ricardo37Allen on IG.) pic.twitter.com/MNgfgbqdMi

— Rebecca Toback (@Rebecca_Toback) February 21, 2022

Still quite young so he still has quite a future ahead for himself and family. I hope he lands in a great place.. Cincinnati or elsewhere..

Wild, wanted to keep him around for years as a player.

Hope he at least sticks around as a Secondary coach or something for us.

(02-21-2022, 01:38 AM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: Wild, wanted to keep him around for years as a player.

Hope he at least sticks around as a Secondary coach or something for us.

I think his size is what kept him from really wanting to play for more years.. IDK.. It seemed he was kind of fading off there so perhaps that's why he wants to get into coaching.. I wouldn't mind keeping him with the Bengals.. I guess it depends on whether he fits or even wants to move on himself.. 

He was unsung depth piece had real solid year this year wish him nothing but the best.

(02-21-2022, 01:46 AM)grampahol Wrote: I think his size is what kept him from really wanting to play for more years.. IDK.. It seemed he was kind of fading off there so perhaps that's why he wants to get into coaching.. I wouldn't mind keeping him with the Bengals.. I guess it depends on whether he fits or even wants to move on himself.. 

A lot of these guys get CTE if they play too long. When I see guys retire at 30, sometimes I think they're the really smart ones. Although, it does seem like they could have played longer.

(02-21-2022, 01:53 PM)THE PISTONS Wrote: A lot of these guys get CTE if they play too long. When I see guys retire at 30, sometimes I think they're the really smart ones. Although, it does seem like they could have played longer.

It's literally a profession with 2000 jobs with 400 people replacing the current 2000 continually every season

(02-21-2022, 01:46 AM)grampahol Wrote: I think his size is what kept him from really wanting to play for more years.. IDK.. It seemed he was kind of fading off there so perhaps that's why he wants to get into coaching.. I wouldn't mind keeping him with the Bengals.. I guess it depends on whether he fits or even wants to move on himself.. 

I bet he wants to stick around here if he wants to coach. Smart player, would be a good secondary assistant I am sure.

Seemed like he was having a lot of fun out there. This team is a family.

Seeing this more and more it seems. Some of it might be CTE related like Pistons said, but I think it's also a lot of those guys who are now fringe guys not wanting to scrape around begging for those 50-53rd spots (or those PS 54th and 55th spots). After having experienced being a starter now moving to new cities every single year and putting in the full year grind to mostly play special teams and be depth. It's also getting harder for vets to fill that role while teams are realizing that young guys are simply cheaper and not significantly worse.

Rookie Minimum: $660k
1 Year Vet Minimum: $780k
2 Year Vet Minimum: $850k
7th round pick Wyatt Huber contract: 4yr/$3.58m ($896k)
6th round pick Chris Evans contract: 4yr/$3.65m ($913k)
3 Year Vet Minimum: $920k
4-6 Year Vet Minimum: $990k
7+ Year Vet Minimum: $1.075m (This is Allen's category.)

So you have teams who are trying to get all their high quality players signed. tThen when it comes down to how to get a bit more savings teams ask themselves if guys like Ricardo Allen as a depth/ST guy is worth the extra $415k (or more) it'd cost to sign him instead of a rookie or $295k more than a guy with a full year of NFL experience.

That's unfortunate.
I was kind of expecting he'd return.
Maybe the Bengals can find another bargain FA safety or draft a backup.
Maybe Shawn Williams could return?
I always liked him.

Very classy departure, hope all goes well after football

(02-21-2022, 05:55 PM)ochocincos Wrote: That's unfortunate.
I was kind of expecting he'd return.
Maybe the Bengals can find another bargain FA safety or draft a backup.
Maybe Shawn Williams could return?
I always liked him.

no...the team moved on from him.  His skills have diminished enough that he would be a liability, not an asset

Average NFL players career length is very low. We focus only on the stars.

Someday we'll see a baller who comes in rookie year, wins the super bowl in some franchise like the Bengals then immediately retire. Cementing some Barry Sanders legacy, one of the best ever ending it early.

Ricardo has gotten his desired coaching gig. He is joining the Dolphins as a special teams assistant.

(02-21-2022, 07:37 PM)reuben.ahmed Wrote: Average NFL players career length is very low. We focus only on the stars.

Someday we'll see a baller who comes in rookie year, wins the super bowl in some franchise like the Bengals then immediately retire. Cementing some Barry Sanders legacy, one of the best ever ending it early.

I think it would really depend on how much money the player and/or his family has. 

If he is very well off, then making $ through the NFL wouldn't be as important as someone with a bad financial situation before getting drafted/signed to the NFL.

(02-21-2022, 03:31 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: I bet he wants to stick around here if he wants to coach. Smart player, would be a good secondary assistant I am sure.

Seemed like he was having a lot of fun out there. This team is a family.

He's already a ST assistant in Miami. It seems he was mainly here to mentor and help coach some last season according to an article on the Bengals site.