Have the Bengals recently prioritized free agency TOO much?

[WeezyBengal]

So, I know it's not that simple and its WILD to think the Bengals are doing TOO much in free agency, but hear me out...

The Brown family is notorious for seeking "value" when it comes to things (I won't say cheap, because I really don't think they are cheap). They want to stretch their dollar as far as possible, not waste money, and want a return on their investment. This is clear.

So, why do they not focus more on re-signing more of their proven quality players rather than rolling the dice with expensive free agents at times? Bates, Reader, Higgins, etc.

I am not against bringing in free agents in the least (you need them to build a quality roster), but you think they'd PRIORITIZE keeping guys that have produced for them rather than spend big on "wild cards".

You'd think that the misses on guys like Trae Waynes, Rankins, Stone, Preston Brown, even going way back to Antonio Bryant would incentivize this team to prioritize the KNOWN commodity. I mean, this team could have literally kept Bates for only a few more million dollars than they gave Sheldon Rankins. You'd think an organization like the Bengals who value comfortability and a "safe" investment would have went down that path.

Again, I know it's not that simple and these are different "positional" signings, but I just found it interesting. In my mind, they should prioritize paying out big to keep their own stars (no matter position), THEN supplimenting through free agency. But they haven't worked that way recently.