You drafted a Guard in the 1st Round...he developed...now Pay Zeitler!

[muskiesfan]

I want to keep Zeitler too, but it's all about the money. I just can't see paying him north of $8 million. $6-7 million a year would be ideal, but 8 is about the cap. I understand he's young, I understand he's in his prime, and I understand that overall he has played well. However, he's not a top tier guard. Blame the C and RT all you want, but his play was bad this year. Paying him top guard money ($10 million or close to) doesn't make any sense.

I know a lot of people would rather keep Zeitler than Whitworth, but I'd much rather keep Whitworth and Kirkpatrick than Zeitler. While there is money, I just don't see the Bengals keeping all 3 and the only way I see them keeping 2 is if Zeitler is the odd man out. Now the team could make some cuts and free up additional money to sign these guys and improve the roster, but we know that's not going to happen. The Bengals are one of the best at honoring contracts, but they do it to a fault.