The Mike Brown Era, Will it Ever End?

[*ochocincos*]

(11-27-2020, 01:55 PM)fredtoast Wrote: This last offseason was unlike any in Bengal history when it came to spending on free agents.

Two of the biggest signings were lost to injury (Waynes, Reader) and the $18 million spent on Green looks like a waste.  But I remember that for years people here claimed they would feel better if the Bengals AT LEAST TRIED to find good players in free agency.  

Guess that was just a bunch of bullshit.

The FA signings were big. While I personally wouldn't have paid big money to a NT in FA, I think it's rather clear that their FA acquisitions were intended to help the run game especially. Reader and Waynes especially are (or were) good run stoppers. But they can't do it all themselves.

I believe the intent to franchise AJ was for two reasons:
1) Let's see if he has anything in the tank to warrant a long-term extension (although I'd argue $18 mill is way too much for a WR who you aren't sure of)
2) We'll have insurance in case a WR we draft isn't a major contributor his rookie year.

What I feel has been learned this season:
1) AJ isn't worth a long-term deal.
2) Higgins is already performing like a good WR2.

There's no need to go out and spend big money on WR this offseason now that we've seen what Higgins can do. The Bengals need a better WR3 since Tate really isn't contributing like we expected/hoped, but a WR3 does not need to cost $8+ mill a year. They could either draft another WR early, draft a good pass-catching TE early, or sign a cheaper veteran for about $4-6 mill a year.