02-27-2017, 01:29 AM
(02-26-2017, 02:43 PM)Bengalholic Wrote: The Bengals free agent approach over the last 14 years hasn't exactly reaped many rewards. In fact there have been quite a few strikeouts when it comes to signing FA's to multi-year deals.
With the exception of Marvin's very first FA class (Kelly, Thornton, Powell, Hardy, James) - the results since haven't been very impressive overall:
Bobbie Williams (3 yr- 5,25m) The one multi-year signing that paid huge dividends.
Bryan Robinson (3 yr- 6m) Was a solid starter and backup for 3 years.
BenJarvus Green-Ellis (3 yr- 9.25m) Played 2 years with Bengals, rushing for 1,850 yards.
Dexter Jackson (4 yr- 7.6m) Played 26 games in first 2 years, just 3 in his 3rd.
Antwan Odom (5 yr- 29.5m) Played 22 games in 3 seasons.
Thomas Howard (2 yr- 6.5m) Started 15 games his first year, played just 1 the next year.
Laverneous Coles (4 yr- 28m) Played 1 season, catching 43 passes.
Sam Adams (3 yr deal) Played 1 year and had 14 tackles.
Kim Herring (5 yr- 7.8m) Played 1 year for Bengals, starting 10 games.
James Harrison (2 yr- 4.45m) Played 1 year, with 10 starts and 2 sacks.
AJ Hawk (2 yr- 3.25m) Played 1 year and had 24 tackles.
Nate Webster (5 yr- 10.3m) Played 4 games in 2 years.
Jason Allen (2 yr- 8.2m) Played just 4 games and 1 year.
Antonio Bryant (4 yr- 28m) Zero games played as a Bengal.
Travelle Wharton (3 yr- 10m) Zero games played as a Bengal.
Jamal Anderson (2 yr- 5.5m) Zero games played as a Bengal.
Ben Utecht (3 yr- 9m) Zero games played as a Bengal.
For whatever reason, the Bengals have had much better luck signing low risk castoffs/bargains like Pacman, Newman, Dhani, Crocker, Benson, Gilberry...or FA's who can be had for reasonable one year deals like TO, Lawson, LaFell, etc.
(I didn't include Michael Johnson or Pat Sims because they had previously been a Bengal)
A fair point, but it's also worth noting that their two most active years in FA were also pretty successful. Marvin's first year netted James, Thornton, Hardy, Powell, and probably someone I'm forgetting. James and Thornton were major contributors for a long time. The others were mere role players, but all in all it was far from a bust venture.
The second instance was the lockout year in 2011, i.e. year 1 of the Dalton-Green era. This team was predicted to go 3-13 and was largely a laughingstock before they started playing games. They added Lawson, Clements, Howard, Mays, and then the fake Whitner signing, lol. They replaced 2/3 of their starting linebacking corps. They made the playoffs vs huge preseason odds. Lawson was solid and hung around for a little bit and Howard was pretty good. if not for his tragic death, who knows? Not exactly disastrous signings there, either.
