Quote:CINCINNATI – After years spent as passive observers in free agency, the Cincinnati Bengals are constructing an impressive register of impact acquisitions.

But while making the right call on which players to add obviously is a key factor in roster building, deciding which players to let leave is equally as important. And the Bengals have excelled there as well.

Perhaps the line of demarcation is a coincidence, or maybe the lessons letting Andrew Whitworth and Kevin Zeitler walk out the door in 2017 is a driving factor in the sharp turn of fortunes for the Cincinnati front office.

Free Agents Who Leave the Bengals Often Flame Out
In the previous six offseasons, the Bengals have seen 25 of their free agents sign with other teams from the time free agency opened until the draft.
And they are nearly batting a thousand.

Some of the 25 spurned offers from the Bengals to go elsewhere, while some never were invited to stay. Of them, 12 signed multi-year deals with their teams.

Only one of them played out the duration of that contract, while three others are incomplete.

That means eight of the 12 (67%) were cut or traded before their contracts expired. The number was six until Tuesday when the Carolina Panthers released Hayden Hurst, who signed a three-year, $21.8 million contract last March, and the New York Jets parted ways with C.J. Uzomah, who left Cincinnati after the 2021 season to sign a three-year, $24 million contract.

Uzomah never came close to matching the production from his career year in 2021 with Joe Burrow when he logged 49 catches for 493 yards and five touchdowns. In two seasons with the Jets, Uzomah caught 29 passes for 290 yards and three scores and earned $16 million.

The Bengals replaced Uzomah with Hurst for $3.5 million.

Hurst caught 52 passes for 414 yards and two touchdowns in his one season in Cincinnati. The Panthers gave him $13 million in guaranteed money as part of his three-year deal, and due to injuries and a dreadful offense, he managed just 18 catches for 184 yards and a touchdown before Carolina let him go.

The other former Bengals who didn’t finish their multi-year deals elsewhere include:

Andre Smith. The 2009 first-round pick signed a two-year, $8 million with the Arizona Cardinals in 2018 and got cut in the middle of his first season there (and returned to the Bengals for $915,000).

Chris Smith. The defensive end inked a three-year, $12 million deal with the Cleveland Browns with $4.5 million guaranteed in 2018. Cleveland cut him after one season in which he recorded 21 tackles and one sack in 16 games.
AJ McCarron. After winning a grievance against the Bengals in 2018 due to the team putting him on the non-football injury list in 2014, McCarron signed for two years and $10 million with the Buffalo Bills. Buffalo traded him before he played a snap.
Tyler Kroft. The 2015 third-round pick signed with the Bills for three years and $18.8 million in 2019. Buffalo cut him after two seasons in which he caught 18 passes for 190 yards and four touchdowns.
William Jackson. The Bengals did not attempt to keep their 2016 first-round pick in 2021. Jackson signed a three-year, $40.5 million deal with Washington with $16 million guaranteed. Jackson recorded two interceptions and eight pass breakups in his first season, and then Washington traded him to Pittsburgh after four games in 2022 and he hasn’t played a snap in the league since.
Cethan Carter. The special teams standout left in 2021 to sign with the Miami Dolphins for three years and $7.8 million with $2.7 million guaranteed. Miami cut him after two seasons.
The lone exception on the list is Carl Lawson, who was one of 10 Bengals free agents to sign elsewhere in 2021. The Jets gave Lawson a three-year, $45 million contract with $30 million guaranteed. In three seasons, he played just 23 games with 38 tackles and seven sacks.

The player the Bengals replaced Lawson with was Trey Hendrickson, who has missed just one game in three years while registering 39.5 sacks.

Three other players who left last March could still end up on the list. Jessie Bates III has three seasons remaining on the four-year, $64 million contract he signed with the Atlanta Falcons. Vonn Bell (three years, $22.5 million) has two seasons left in Carolina, and Samaje Perine (two years, $7.5 million) has a year left with the Denver Broncos.

Even if Bates continues to play at an All-Pro level, the Bengals will be content with their decision not to pay a safety $16 million a year. Of the 17 highest-paid safeties in the league in 2023, only four were employed by playoff teams.

It’s not just the Bengals who have left for long-term contracts who have fizzled.

Of the 13 former Bengals who left to sign one-year contracts elsewhere, nine never finished that season, with several failing to even make the 53-man roster.

Some of the names included on that list are Kevin Minter, Jake Fisher, Shawn Williams, Alex Erickson, John Ross, Auden Tate, and Darius Phillips.

And of the four who played their new one-year deals to fruition, none left the Bengals bathed in regret for letting them leave — A.J. Green (Arizona), Mackensie Alexander (Minnesota), Cedric Ogbuehi (Jacksonville), and Jeremy Hill (New England).

KEEP READING: Cincinnati Bengals Free Agency Suggestions 2024 — Sign Trent Brown, DaQuan Jones, Double Down at RB

Cincinnati has 16 free agents they can re-sign this offseason.

The ones who walk away will be traveling a foreboding path.

(03-07-2024, 06:19 PM)ochocincos Wrote: What I took away - Bengals don't value paying safeties  

(03-07-2024, 05:57 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: Says the Front Office has been bringing in good people and being smart about who walks.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/the-bengals-haven-t-just-hit-homers-in-free-agency-they-re-nearly-batting-a-thousand-in-letting-guys-walk/ar-BB1jrUlx?ocid=msedgntp&pc=U531&cvid=9ffaaa9ff46d4088b55c571957c6957d&ei=119

(03-07-2024, 08:12 PM)Nepa Wrote: A very interesting and informative read.

So far, the Bengals haven't made the kind of disastrous decisions the Bills made with their free-agent signings. When the Bills swung and missed, they were left this year with having to jettison a lot of their good players. The Bengals have, as the article stated, generally made sound decisions.

(03-07-2024, 07:22 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: I'll bet that they have re-thought the entire negotiating process with Bates, many times in the past year.

(03-08-2024, 01:22 AM)Bengal Dude Wrote: I don't think they've re-thought the Bates process. I think they'd re-do the Bell situation and hang onto him.

Again, I don't know what they saw in Scott that made them think he was the perfect replacement.

(03-08-2024, 01:22 AM)Bengal Dude Wrote: I don't think they've re-thought the Bates process. I think they'd re-do the Bell situation and hang onto him.

Again, I don't know what they saw in Scott that made them think he was the perfect replacement.

(03-07-2024, 06:19 PM)ochocincos Wrote: What I took away - Bengals don't value overpaying ANYONE

(03-08-2024, 07:15 AM)Brownshoe Wrote: They might have resigned Bates if they knew how much the cap was going up, but I agree. I feel like the FO knew they wanted to resign Burrow (Duh), Chase and Higgins and they couldn't keep someone like Bates even though he is a great safety.

(03-07-2024, 07:22 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: I'll bet that they have re-thought the entire negotiating process with Bates, many times in the past year.

(03-07-2024, 08:12 PM)Nepa Wrote: A very interesting and informative read.

So far, the Bengals haven't made the kind of disastrous decisions the Bills made with their free-agent signings. When the Bills swung and missed, they were left this year with having to jettison a lot of their good players. The Bengals have, as the article stated, generally made sound decisions.

(03-08-2024, 11:40 AM)Stewy Wrote: I doubt it.  The article justifies their philosophies.  And how quickly we forget, that Bates had a down year, whined about the money, ADMITTED that the contract affected his play, etc.  The team is bigger than one player with a poor attitude.  Also, I believe Lou will figure thing out.

Did missing Bates hurt us last year?  Absolutely!  Do I wish we had signed to that big deal?  Absolutely not.

(03-08-2024, 12:00 PM)Soonerpeace Wrote: Do the Bengals sometimes lean too much to the conservative side? Yes. But like the Bills were mentioned and there are other examples of recklessness. The Broncos and Browns are others. They don’t get credit enough frankly for widespread success. The players love it here. They have no drama. The culture as good as anywhere. They’ve had little turnover in the roster and staff. They have the smallest scouting and front office staff. Yet they’ve done pretty good considering. I like the info about they actually formed a blue print to get much better.It sounds like they took advantage of the time they had at the end of the season. They usually don’t.

(03-08-2024, 12:06 PM)Stewy Wrote: I just hope they recognize their failures on OL evaluation and do something to pivot.  Generally they are doing an excellent job, but they seem to have a fundamental flaw about how they evaluate or USE OL.  And it started well before Pollack.

(03-08-2024, 12:06 PM)Stewy Wrote: I just hope they recognize their failures on OL evaluation and do something to pivot.  Generally they are doing an excellent job, but they seem to have a fundamental flaw about how they evaluate or USE OL.  And it started well before Pollack.

(03-08-2024, 12:39 PM)Soonerpeace Wrote: There’s a definite flaw there. JMHO Pollack is the main one. What do I know? Nothing. But with the small scouting staff all the coaches are much more involved in evaluating and judging. I just don’t think Pollack’s strength is scheming or developing or evaluating. Zac’s strength is the passing game. He needs a great schemer for the run game. Zac has been passing centric since his flag football games in the fourth grade.