All they really have to do is fall in a sewer in Calcutta and come out looking fresh as a daisy and smelling like a fresh rose.. How hard can that possibly be anyway?   They did it the year they came in dead last place. I know.. Tank for next year's draft! 

KC has been praised by many on here for their handling of their cap. Tonight their tackles struggled. They should have kept Orlando. Their receivers dropped 9 balls. Hats off to them for their recent run. But if our OL plays well they won’t repeat.

(03-15-2023, 04:24 PM)Synric Wrote: It will be fine if they pay Tee and Chase they will just have to fill in around them just like if they didn't pay Tee they would have to fill his spot. They have a good shot at paying all 3 because they can spread out the cap hits  over at the end of the rookie contract which helps alot.

Pay the line before Tee, we need a strong line before we need #2:WR but he have him for 2 yrs still

(09-08-2023, 12:40 AM)Soonerpeace Wrote: KC has been praised by many on here for their handling of their cap. Tonight their tackles struggled. They should have kept Orlando. Their receivers dropped 9 balls. Hats off to them for their recent run. But if our OL plays well they won’t repeat.

If we were healthier last year, we win that game. 

It's hard to say what happens to Tee. I think we tag him next year, but I'm not sure if he will be with us after that. If we don't sign him right now and hypothetically we win the SB I don't see us being able to keep him. It also depends on the production of our other recievers. I actually think it's more likely we sign boyd at a lower price than we do Tee, especially if one of our other recievers show a lot of promise.

We had a very good thread during the off-season where we looked at everyone’s salary and tried to say which guys we’d be ok with losing


The consensus was that basically we HAD to go cheap on D and keep pouring 1st round picks into the defense and then we’d spend most the big money on offense. Having Tee, Chase and Burrow and an above average o line meant we could only have Logan Wilson under a big contract on D. Everyone else would have to be a draft pick or a cheap FA. Which is fine but makes life difficult if you luck into a beast. If we signed all three of those offensive guys we’d essentially be giving up on keeping any good defensive player past their rookie contract for those years in which all 3 cap hits are massive and strike all together

(09-08-2023, 01:39 AM)Essex Johnson Wrote: Pay the line before Tee, we need a strong line before we need #2:WR but he have him for 2 yrs still

Why are people still saying the Bengals aren't paying the offensive and defensive lines? Both consist of mostly outside free agents at the moment. They need to draft and develop behind those starters now. 

(09-08-2023, 01:39 AM)Essex Johnson Wrote: Pay the line before Tee, we need a strong line before we need #2:WR but he have him for 2 yrs still

Yes !!!

(09-08-2023, 01:39 AM)Essex Johnson Wrote: Pay the line before Tee, we need a strong line before we need #2:WR but he have him for 2 yrs still

Who on our current OL needs paid, that isn't already being paid well?

(09-08-2023, 08:37 AM)Synric Wrote: Why are people still saying the Bengals aren't paying the offensive and defensive lines? Both consist of mostly outside free agents at the moment. They need to draft and develop behind those starters now. 

Yep exactly.
You've already got Cappa, Brown, and Volson under contract through 2025.
The spots they'll need to figure out sooner will be RT and then C.

For DL, similar situation.
Hendrickson and Hubbard signed through 2025, BJ Hill signed through 2024.
Reader obviously after this season.

Bengals are likely to draft heirs to those OL and DL positions, as they won't have the luxury of paying mid-or-upper-tier prices for veterans.
Expect that Murphy is one of those planned heirs, so remove one DE from the list.
They've got 2-3 drafts they can draft a RT, C, 2 DTs, and maybe a WR2 if Higgins doesn't re-sign.
You can argue a NT doesn't have to be drafted 1st round, maybe even 2nd round.
You probably want the OL to be drafted within the first two rounds.
WR2 you can honestly get a cheaper veteran to cover that spot, even if they don't end up being quite as good as Higgins. But if you have the luxury and opportunity to draft a WR in Rd 1 or Rd 2 without sacrificing the OL/DL spots, may as well take it.
Can also get an elite receiving TE to act as 2nd option in the passing game instead of WR2, which may be an option given they said they liked someone like Kincaid's skill set.

(03-15-2023, 04:13 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: Some aren't going to like the sound of this, but paying huge money to two top recevers, along with a premier franchise QB is just wasteful.  It robs the team of the ability to put a strong "rest of the team" around them.  When you have a true franchise QB like Joe Burrow, he will develop average players into stars.  Just put the spending where it belongs, on an OL and solid defense.

We have a winner 

Look I'd love, LOVE, to keep Tee. My heart would be ecstatic! But my head knows it's probably not realistic. I'm old school I know but I still strongly believe football is won in the trenches. We have to continue to strengthen Oline. Build Dline with more and better pass rush. So, something has to give.  

You can't have a giant chunk of team money tied up in 3 offensive skill players and let everything else go.

(09-08-2023, 10:31 AM)bengalfan74 Wrote: We have a winner 

Look I'd love, LOVE, to keep Tee. My heart would be ecstatic! But my head knows it's probably not realistic. I'm old school I know but I still strongly believe football is won in the trenches. We have to continue to strengthen Oline. Build Dline with more and better pass rush. So, something has to give.  

You can't have a giant chunk of team money tied up in 3 offensive skill players and let everything else go.

I agree with this.

Tee Higgins is a really good example of exactly what the Salary Cap is designed to do; limit a team's ability to just become some all-star roster.

The Bengals are also a REALLY good example of the fact that while the NFL is changing to a QB/offence focused league... the old rules still count. Trenches and defence. Our defence in my opinion is what has pushed us through the playoffs the past two years, and the OL is where we have fallen short. 

Personally... the fact we're in a spot whereby we can't keep everybody, is indicative of us having a roster full of good players. Not always a spot the Bengals have been in. Losing Tee would suck, but it's a result of the Bengals otherwise putting a really good team together.

We'll have this little window with Burrow/Chase/Tee/Boyd all together, maybe just for this season, and then if it falls short we'll have to accept that we're paying Burrow to make lesser WRs good. If the maths works out then great, but I too think it'd be potentially quite silly to go all in on Burrow/Chase/Higgins and leave other spots in trouble.

Tee is fantastic but I want to echo the comments that spending money in the trenches is far more important than having two max contract WRs

I think they will be forced to chose between Chase or Tee.

(09-08-2023, 08:37 AM)Synric Wrote: Why are people still saying the Bengals aren't paying the offensive and defensive lines? Both consist of mostly outside free agents at the moment. They need to draft and develop behind those starters now. 

You miss my point in 1 to 2 rs our oline will contracts will be coming up so let's resign them and draft Higgins backup, seems easier in nfl today to pick right on WRs than Oline anyway

(09-08-2023, 11:19 AM)Essex Johnson Wrote: You miss my point in 1 to 2 rs our oline will contracts will be coming up so let's resign them and draft Higgins backup, seems easier in nfl today to pick right on WRs than Oline anyway

Yes those contracts will be up but the players will also all be over 30 years old. They will be replacing them one way or the other with draft capital or free agency. 

(03-15-2023, 03:56 PM)RunKijanaRun Wrote: True, but realistically, this is the last year we'll have these coaches.

We almost lost a few. That won't happen again.

Plus, we have a small window. The iron is hot right now. Strike, damn you. STRIKE.

It'll take some spending to get there. I'm not sure they have it in them.

This is something I didn’t really think about, having a small window to “strike.” The receiving corps is so good that it’s unfair. I don’t know enough about salary cap / finances to see what’s plausible or even possible… but you’re right. Bengals may never have a situation like this again after Chase gets re-signed, unless another Chase / Higgins is drafted. Which I guess could happen. My guess is it doesn’t and the offense will have to become less pass happy. 220 carries a season for whoever is at RB isn’t going to cut it. 

Either way, Bengals offense, now that OL seems to be highly ranked (but that doesn’t account for the synergy aspect), as long as they can stay healthy, would be the least thing to worry about. 

Rapien saying we are making a push for Tee will all come down to guarantees.

If that bell end of an agent of his costs us another tier 1 player I’ll be livid.

worst comes to worse they just tag him for '24 and then move on. Maybe by '25 the bengals will actually have a good run game

(09-08-2023, 01:13 PM)Frank Booth Wrote: worst comes to worse they just tag him for '24 and then move on. Maybe by '25 the bengals will actually have a good run game

Tag him and explore trade market next offseason


I am sure a team would give at least a first or second to avoid battling other teams in FA. Let Tee veto the trade partner and he’ll sign an extension with them shortly after the trade.

Tyler Boyd on Tee Higgins: “He got the short end of the stick. He’s worth a lot. They have to come up with some type of agreement. I hope they get something done over the next couple weeks.”

“It relieves stress and has you more comfortable out there.”

— Charlie Goldsmith (@CharlieG__) September 8, 2023

Higgins: “We’ve all got one goal. Winning it all.”

Will there be more negotiations heading into the opener? “I hope.”

— Charlie Goldsmith (@CharlieG__) September 8, 2023

Higgins: “My resume is not as good as the greats. I got a lot of work to do. Looking forward to getting that done.”

— Charlie Goldsmith (@CharlieG__) September 8, 2023