***Official Bengals Free Agency Thread***

[Rubekahn29]

(03-17-2021, 06:00 PM)Fulcher_33 Wrote: Thuney
Linsley
Mack
Hudson
J.Britt
K.Zeitler

Those are just the INTERIOR OL that changed teams, that are "note" worthy. There have been others, and obviously OTs as well.

Andrews and Reiter are still out there, and Im sure some other IOL I'm not thinking of off the top of my head. I just don't see the Bengals pursuing any at this point.

Britt was one I was missing. Hudson was traded, and Mack was after I posted that.

[oncemoreuntothejimbreech]

(03-17-2021, 06:38 PM)fredtoast Wrote: Scouting college players is not an exact science and even the best teams pick flops from time to time.  But we have been on an epic string of bad picks.  I think it is a combination of poor scouting and then poor coaching when we get them here.

Jonah has not looked that impressive, but you can't blame our scouts because EVERYONE had him as the highest rated O-lineman in the draft.  Maybe that is on the coaching.

Price may have been drafted a little too high, but even if he was a second round pick he should have been A LOT better than what he has shown so far.  Again, maybe that is on the coaches.

Ogbuehi was just a flop.  He has been on other NFL teams so the problem was not our coaches.

Fisher might have been our "bad luck' pick because of his health problems.

Cordy Glenn was not that bad when he was on the field, but he was a head case.

Jonah was not the consensus #1 OT in his draft class. Close, but not “EVERYONE”’s #1. Plus there was more than a little talk of moving him to guard in the NFL.

There was no indication that Ogbuehi would be successful at LT during his first two seasons. And they still let Whitworth go in free agency despite still playing at a high level because they weren’t smart enough to structure a contract like the Rams.

Glenn was a poor trade from the beginning because he had already been benched for health and performance reasons.

It’s not just a case of poor luck. There is more than a fair share of poor judgment, poor decision making, and a failure to evaluate the situation and adjust the plan accordingly.

[HarleyDog]

(03-17-2021, 06:49 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: I agree, and I'm a little disappointed that for as far as we can tell, the team hasn't really made any serious effort to sign any of the significant OL that have signed with other teams thus far.  Then again, we don't really know the entire story.  Maybe the Bengals did reach out, maybe the players had no interest in coming to Cincinnati or maybe their agents just gave the Bengals a ridiculously high number.  Like I said, we really don't know.

I've read they have went after others, but how aggressively is unknown. 

[Schmitbuck]

(03-17-2021, 06:01 PM)oncemoreuntothejimbreech Wrote: My point was the Bengals can’t build a team through the draft alone, but must aggressively pursue every avenue to improve at their disposal. To include smart free agency signings. Manipulating the cap. Manipulating the draft order. Expanding the scouting department. Etc.

Then you jumped in to correct me by explaining why they need to utilize free agency to fill the two most important positions on the defense. Thus refuting the build through the draft mantra which the Bengals famously use to lower fan expectations during free agency perennially.

Basically, you unwittingly agreed with me without realizing it. So thank you for adding to my point.

If all that was the point you were trying to make in a post whining about the Bengals not re-signing Lawson & Jackson, then you must be really bad at communicating. 

But congrats on wasting your time typing that out.  

[*Synric*]

(03-17-2021, 06:17 PM)Bengalholic Wrote:

The #Bengals are re-signing CB Tony Brown, source said, as the former #Bama star (and #Packers defender) stays in Cincy.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 17, 2021

 

Another Special teams re-signing to go with Brandon Wilson.

[Shake n Blake]

(03-17-2021, 05:49 PM)Rubekahn29 Wrote: Literally 3 quality linemen have CHANGED  teams via free agency. Thuney and Linsley. Maybe another one I’m missing, but you’re acting as if like 20 linemen chose other teams.

There are more than 3 quality linemen out.

I hear ya, but do you really think the Bengals will go after anyone?

Do we have any visits lined up? Have we been aggressive going after good free agent linemen at any point during this 5 year long o-line nightmare?

[*TheLeonardLeap*]

(03-17-2021, 07:02 PM)HarleyDog Wrote: I've read they have went after others, but how aggressively is unknown. 

(Had to. It's basically tradition by now.)

[Rubekahn29]

(03-17-2021, 07:10 PM)Shake n Blake Wrote: I hear ya, but do you really think the Bengals will go after anyone?

Do we have any visits lined up? Have we been aggressive going after good free agent linemen at any point during this 5 year long o-line nightmare?

Well that was not the question! lol. No I’m super frustrated as well. I’m just trying to keep hope alive until it’s completely gone.

[NATI BENGALS]

(03-17-2021, 07:09 PM)Synric Wrote: Another Special teams re-signing to go with Brandon Wilson.

He was a RFA so this was pretty much expected

[oncemoreuntothejimbreech]

(03-17-2021, 06:49 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: I agree, and I'm a little disappointed that for as far as we can tell, the team hasn't really made any serious effort to sign any of the significant OL that have signed with other teams thus far.  Then again, we don't really know the entire story.  Maybe the Bengals did reach out, maybe the players had no interest in coming to Cincinnati or maybe their agents just gave the Bengals a ridiculously high number.  Like I said, we really don't know.

You’re right. I can’t judge them on what might have been. I can only judge them on their results.

I was really hoping they would fix the Oline during free agency. For one, while Burrow is on his rookie contract they have cap space to spend elsewhere like high dollar FA Olineman. Two, FA Olineman are cheaper than FA skill positions. Three, with the Oline taken care of during free agency I was hoping to see something crazy in the draft like TE Pitts and WR Marshall in the first two rounds.

Now it’s looking more and more like the Bengals will be looking for Oline help in the draft. And the Steelers will probably trade up right in front of them to steal their guy.

[fredtoast]

(03-17-2021, 07:00 PM)oncemoreuntothejimbreech Wrote: And they still let Whitworth go in free agency despite still playing at a high level because they weren’t smart enough to structure a contract like the Rams.

No.  Many teams believe in letting a player go a year too soon instead of a year too late.

Many of the same people here who claim were stupid not to give Whit a new contract at age 35 also say we were stupid not to have gotten rid of Dunlap when he was 29 and Atkins when he was 30 because they were "Too old to build around."

[Wes Mantooth]

(03-17-2021, 07:11 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote:



(Had to. It's basically tradition by now.)

By FAR my favorite running gag on Jungle Noise.  It brings a smile to myself every time it gets used.

[JerseyDD09]

(03-17-2021, 07:25 PM)oncemoreuntothejimbreech Wrote: You’re right. I can’t judge them on what might have been. I can only judge them on their results.

I was really hoping they would fix the Oline during free agency. For one, while Burrow is on his rookie contract they have cap space to spend elsewhere like high dollar FA Olineman. Two, FA Olineman are cheaper than FA skill positions. Three, with the Oline taken care of during free agency I was hoping to see something crazy in the draft like TE Pitts and WR Marshall in the first two rounds.

Now it’s looking more and more like the Bengals will be looking for Oline help in the draft. And the Steelers will probably trade up right in front of them to steal their guy.

Damn dude, take a chill pill. The Steelers would have to give away the moon, stars, and galaxy to get above them to #4. Cry me a river already....

[Shake n Blake]

(03-17-2021, 07:28 PM)Wes Mantooth Wrote: By FAR my favorite running gag on Jungle Noise.  It brings a smile to myself every time it gets used.

Same. That one goes back to the days of Pistons, Jungle Juice, Wyche, you and myself back in the Richard Simmons sig days. Good stuff.

[BengalsRocker]

(03-17-2021, 07:25 PM)oncemoreuntothejimbreech Wrote: You’re right. I can’t judge them on what might have been. I can only judge them on their results.

I was really hoping they would fix the Oline during free agency. For one, while Burrow is on his rookie contract they have cap space to spend elsewhere like high dollar FA Olineman. Two, FA Olineman are cheaper than FA skill positions. Three, with the Oline taken care of during free agency I was hoping to see something crazy in the draft like TE Pitts and WR Marshall in the first two rounds.

Now it’s looking more and more like the Bengals will be looking for Oline help in the draft. And the Steelers will probably trade up right in front of them to steal their guy.

Having them try to fix the O-line solely via draft is a nightmare.

Oh well.

[Shake n Blake]

(03-17-2021, 07:32 PM)BengalsRocker Wrote: Having them try to fix the O-line solely via draft is a nightmare.

Oh well.

After Ogbuehi, Fisher, Bodine and Price, it's tough to look at the draft as the solution.

Even Jonah has just been kinda meh.

[Wes Mantooth]

(03-17-2021, 07:27 PM)fredtoast Wrote: Many of the same people here who claim were stupid not to give Whit a new contract at age 35 also say we were stupid not to have gotten rid of Dunlap when he was 29 and Atkins when he was 30 because they were "Too old to build around."

Just so we're clear, I don't remember people calling for Carlos to be shipped off prior to 2019.  He was 30 years old at that time, it was the middle of the year, and he was due to be 31 the following year.

Geno Atkins is the same story, don't recall people wanting him shipped off until 2019 either.  Also middle of a lost year.  He was 31 at the time, due to be 32 the following year.

I know these are small differences, but two years difference (when you account for moving forward vs. Whitworth in offseason) is pretty substantial.

And by far the biggest thing you're missing is that when calls started to happen for these two get moved we were literally winless.  We hadn't won a single game.  We were on our way to our 4th straight losing season.  With a new coach, and us staring at a potential #1 pick (QB) we were clearly in a rebuild.  At least we should have been.

With Whit, we were one year removed from 5 straight playoffs.  And his problems in getting an extension actually occurred during that run, the year prior in 2015.  He also was coming off one his best years.  That Bengals team didn't have nearly as many holes as their 2019 counterparts.

So I consider these to completely different arguments.  One team was still contending for the playoffs when Mike finally got involved to get Whit an extra year, while the other team was the worst in the league.  Whitworth was still at the top of his game, while Dunlap was completely non-existant for the first half of 2019 and Geno Atkins play had clearly started to diminish a bit.

Apples to oranges.

[Nicomo Cosca]

Another day of doing absolutely nothing to protect their young franchise QB? Disgraceful.

[Trademark]

Wide receiver Kenny Golladay has received an offer from the Cincinnati Bengals, per sources. I’m told no decision has been made, while other teams are interested. One of those teams, the New York Giants. @DanGrazianoESPN reporting the receiver will visit with New York.

— Dianna Russini (@diannaESPN) March 17, 2021

Please sign this man

[HarleyDog]

(03-17-2021, 07:35 PM)Shake n Blake Wrote: After Ogbuehi, Fisher, Bodine and Price, it's tough to look at the draft as the solution.

Even Jonah has just been kinda meh.

I agree. We have sucked terribly at the draft on many needs. Not all, but more than we should.