"It sounds like the Bengals are going to be more active in free agency"

[BengalChris]

(02-22-2020, 07:42 AM)Takedown Wrote: It sounds like the Bengals are going to be more active in free agency than they have in the past, but Tobin is cautious because there is no market yet to be read and, well, he's not going to say much else because it is the biggest poker game of the year. The stakes open in mid-March.

"The plan is try and put together the best roster we can find and it's not something we proclaim in advance," Tobin said.

For the past several years the Bengals have kept their signing of unrestricted free agents to a minimum in an effort to gather extra draft picks. But Tobin said that hasn't been a ram-rod principle.

"It's not a driving force. It's something to be aware of when we're going through the process, but it's not an overriding factor," Tobin said. "We want to build the best team. At times that requires looking at players from other teams and sometimes extending players on your own team. It's not easily predictable and we haven't been able to sit down yet with a player or an agent."

Next week they'll have 18 minutes to sit and talk. Offense is always going to get the headlines now and 10 years from now when they talk about this draft. But with the defense more settled this time around and picking at the top of each round, it may have a big impact, too.

https://www.bengals.com/news/bengals-prime-for-combine-don-t-forget-the-defense

Perhaps they're listening to the media and thinking of shutting them up?

I guess we get to find out when the free agency period starts. If this is true, then it would be a big shift in thinking by Mike Brown and the front office.