Vonn deserves the praise he is getting here. The culture changing hit vs Pitt. He has been fantastic. I wanted him back, badly.

But that penalty in the SB was costly AF and does not get talked about much. Without it, we have a great chance of stopping them, as we could have accepted the holding penalty it wiped out.

That’s a more than fair deal I’m disappointed we didn’t match it it’s about 1.3 million more a season.

Has to be that he would be in to his 30s and the Bengals wanted to go younger?

(03-13-2023, 09:24 PM)BengalsLUFC Wrote: That’s a more than fair deal I’m disappointed we didn’t match it it’s about 1.3 million more a season.

Has to be that he would be in to his 30s and the Bengals wanted to go younger?

Agreed, I woulda done that deal in a heartbeat. Age 30 season isn’t that old, especially for a safety who is very smart. I wouldn’t worry about him dropping off much at all over that time. Plus the cap will increase the next few years so year 3 will probably be dirt cheap compared to the cap at that time.

(03-13-2023, 09:24 PM)Isaac Curtis: The Real #85 Wrote: Vonn deserves the praise he is getting here. The culture changing hit vs Pitt. He has been fantastic. I wanted him back, badly.

But that penalty in the SB was costly AF and does not get talked about much. Without it, we have a great chance of stopping them, as we could have accepted the holding penalty it wiped out.

I like Bell. Agree on the hit on Juju. Would have liked him back.

That said, he's not great in coverage and Lou did a good job scheming to his strengths.

(03-13-2023, 09:23 PM)Housh Wrote: I’d be surprised if we didn’t offer a similar deal. But knowing us i believe we would’ve guaranteed a good portion it so idk. I’d love to know what we offered

They front loaded Pratt's deal, they must have just decided that they wanted to go cheap at Safety.  If that is the case, it was a huge mistake.  Good Safeties are cheaper than good CBs, but having good Safeties allows a defense to get by with average CBs..  You can pay the Safeties or you can pay the CBs, otherwise the secondary will be toast at some point.

(03-13-2023, 09:24 PM)BengalsLUFC Wrote: That’s a more than fair deal I’m disappointed we didn’t match it it’s about 1.3 million more a season.

Has to be that he would be in to his 30s and the Bengals wanted to go younger?

That seems like a reasonable contract.  Did the Bengals just not want Bell back?  He didnt want anything outrageous.  Im a bit disappointed the Bengals didnt sign Bell to that contract

(03-13-2023, 09:12 PM)QueenCity Wrote: Terms: #Panthers signed former #Bengals safety Vonn Bell to a 3-year, $22.5M deal with $13M guaranteed, per source.

Bet the Bengals balked at the guaranteed $$$

That seems like a deal we could've matched. I hope it wasn't the guaranteed money. If the Bengals are getting hung up on that it is just plain stupid. Look at Waynes. About as bad as free agent as you could have with injuries and he still got almost 3/4s of his salary. So who cares if there's a decent guarantee in the contract because your almost certainly keeping a guy for two years even with health issues preventing them from playing. Let alone a guy like Bell who has proven who he is and what he can do. Just silly if they are still continuing to get caught up a guarantees.

#Panthers deal for Vonn Bell: three years $22.5M, $13M gtd, $5.835M signing bonus, salaries $1.165M (gtd), $6M (gtd), $3.25M; $3M roster bonus 3rd day 2024 league year, $3.25M roster bonus 3rd day 2025 league year

— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) March 14, 2023

I am surprised Bell is not in Stripes, given those numbers. We would have beenpaying him age 28, 29, and 30. He is a better run defender than cover guy, however.

OTC has Pratt's cap hit this year at $5.4 mil. Duke saud we were gonna soend to the cap. Got about $36 mil left and only Hurst, Perine, & Apple left who might command over $2 mil per (maybe Flowers). Gonna have to pay somebody.

I said it when they drafted Dax Hill.

Hill might not be Bates' replacement like everyone thought - he very easily could be Bell's replacement. That being said, I'm still very disappointed they let Bell walk,

(03-13-2023, 10:00 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: They front loaded Pratt's deal, they must have just decided that they wanted to go cheap at Safety.  If that is the case, it was a huge mistake.  Good Safeties are cheaper than good CBs, but having good Safeties allows a defense to get by with average CBs..  You can pay the Safeties or you can pay the CBs, otherwise the secondary will be toast at some point.

Yep!

(03-13-2023, 10:12 PM)NUGDUKWE Wrote: That seems like a deal we could've matched. I hope it wasn't the guaranteed money. If the Bengals are getting hung up on that it is just plain stupid. Look at Waynes. About as bad as free agent as you could have with injuries and he still got almost 3/4s of his salary. So who cares if there's a decent guarantee in the contract because your almost certainly keeping a guy for two years even with health issues preventing them from playing. Let alone a guy like Bell who has proven who he is and what he can do. Just silly if they are still continuing to get caught up a guarantees.

It was the guaranteed 13 million I would bet !

I thought Bell would have been overpaid for him to have left.

$7.5m/yr, and the Bengals couldn't match? Weak.

If it was one or the other I’m glad we kept Playoff P.

I definitely appreciate Bell’s contributions to turning the Bengals around. Hopefully his leadership qualities have rubbed off and will be retained by someone else in the DB room.

(03-13-2023, 09:24 PM)BengalsLUFC Wrote: That’s a more than fair deal I’m disappointed we didn’t match it it’s about 1.3 million more a season.

Has to be that he would be in to his 30s and the Bengals wanted to go younger?

Also, keep in mind, the #Bengals time and time again since Zac Taylor arrived have shown when it comes to investment they always prefer to go younger. No matter how valuable the player.

Would have had to pay Bell into age 30 season. VB ends up the latest example.

— Paul Dehner Jr. (@pauldehnerjr) March 13, 2023

I know i'm in the minority here but if we are letting Bell and Bates go then we sure as hell better have a plan for giving Eli help (if we re-sign him).

(03-13-2023, 11:13 PM)Isaac Curtis: The Real #85 Wrote: I am surprised Bell is not in Stripes, given those numbers. We would have beenpaying him age 28, 29, and 30. He is a better run defender than cover guy, however.

OTC has Pratt's cap hit this year at $5.4 mil. Duke saud we were gonna soend to the cap. Got about $36 mil left and only Hurst, Perine, & Apple left who might command over $2 mil per (maybe Flowers). Gonna have to pay somebody.

Spotrac has Flowers and Apple's values at 10 and 11 million.

(03-14-2023, 01:21 AM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: I thought Bell would have been overpaid for him to have left.

$7.5m/yr, and the Bengals couldn't match? Weak.

Guaranteed money was the Deal breaker apparently.

(03-14-2023, 02:17 AM)J24 Wrote: Guaranteed money was the Deal breaker apparently.

Isn't it always, with the Bengals?

A shame.

My perspective on the guaranteed money offers is I too would avoid them. If you hired an individual wanting guaranteed pay over 3 years, would you go for it? Especially if the job involved potential injuries. I just think the Bengals are being money conscience. Makes business sense.