From the look of things we are rebuilding

[BengalChris]

(03-06-2017, 11:51 PM)Bilbo Saggins Wrote: Such negativity before anything has even happened...

Many teams out there wish that they had the core that this team does.  They have a top 10 QB, top 3 WR, game changing LB, Dunlap/Atkins combo, and a roster without a ton of glaring holes.  Let's wait and see how it all shakes out before we say that the sky is falling.

It's that nothing has happened that is causing the stir.

The O-line is a glaring hole and the top two guys are free agents who are unsigned and it appears the team has already given up on re-signing Zeitler. Combine that with Whitworth's replacement sucking horribly and Whitworth is testing the market.

We did re-sign Adam Jones and Iloka last year, but Jones is one episode from a long suspension and Iloka went backwards.

The team rolls over salary cap space almost every year to extend contracts but since it reached long term deals with AJ Green, Dunlap and Andy Dalton it has mostly extended lessor guys (Williams over Nelson) or backups (Gio who was on pace for his worst year before being injured) rather than trying to secure its top core players. They did exercise their option on Eifert for a 5th year, but unless an extension is reached he'll be heading to free agency next year, which is exactly what occurred with Zeitler and Kirkpatrick.

The team has until May 3rd to exercise its 5th year option on Dennard and if they don't that will tell us what they really think of him. He hasn't had enough playing time for fans to see much, yet he's heading into his 4th year now.

If Kirkpatrick leaves (likely) and Jones gets suspended (likely) and the team doesn't exercise its option on Dennard, then we should not be surprised to see the team draft a corner fairly high in this draft.