4 free agents Cincinnati should sign following NFL Draft

[SunsetBengal]

(05-05-2017, 05:44 PM)Slythe Wrote: I doubt we sign any of these players. Bengals are not going to cut Bodine, seem to like and trust T.J. Johnson and just drafted Dielman. Mangold doesn't fit into their plans, even if we on the outside think he's a clear upgrade over Bodine.

Also, to take things a step further, I don't think replacing Bodine was ever on the offseason agenda for them. With all the turnover already in store for the Oline, and knowing our coaches' love for stability, I think there was basically no way they were going to replace Bodine this year. They plan to give Ogbuehi and Fisher as much familiarity as they can. Once they see what they have in our young tackles this year they will look into replacing or extending Bodine in the 2018 offseason.

If one of our starters or important depth pieces (Winston, Johnson) goes down in camp/preseason we might see a FA signing, but it won't be Mangold. It'll be someone with a lower profile.

As much as I wanted to see the Bengals go after a premiere Center, the way that things turned out with Whitworth and Bodine now makes me think otherwise.  You make some valid points.  They are already turning over 3 of the 5 spots to guys that didn't start there, last year, throwing a new Center into the mix would only further cloud the matter.  Boling and Bodine are going to be the only consistent pieces of the 5 man unit.  Meager as it was, at least Bodine showed some improvement as last season wore on.

I, much like most of the fans on here, would like to see them at least pick up some viable veteran backup at the T position.  Sure, Winston is good for some spot duty, and an occasional start.  Realistically?  We don't want him having to play multiple games in a row.

Honestly, I sure hope that the Bengals staff was able to look into some sort of crystal ball, and see phenomenal development happening from Ogbuehi and Fisher, because their lack of any serious attention to OL in the draft really scares the crap out of me.