Checking In on Some Former Bengals

[Wes Mantooth]

I thought I'd check in on some Bengals players who have departed the team since Zac Taylor's reign started.  Many of these guys were often discussed on here (should we keep them, are they overpaid, etc.) and I think taking a look at where they are now is interesting.

Bobby Hart
Bobby Hart, more than any other player, was debated and critqued on this site.  There was a number of conversations about whether or not he was bad, just exactly how bad was he, how he improved, ect.  One poster in particular would often point out that he was a decent starting OT.  "Bobby Hart is actually the 43rd best OT in the NFL" (paraphrased).  We also had numerous conversations about his pay.  Was he overpaid at 7 mil per?  A lot didn't think so.

Now --- Bobby Hart just signed a 1 year deal for the league minimum, 900k with the Bills.

Dre Kirkpatrick
Another guy that got talked about a ton.  Was he overpaid?  Fwiw, the same poster who liked to say that Bobby Hart was actually a decent starter made the claim that Kirkpatrick wasn't overpaid and that he would see a similar amount on the open market to the 10 mil he was making here.  Others did as well.

Now --- Dre Kirkpatrick is currently unsigned.  He signed a 1 year 1.05 mil dollar deal after being cut in 2020.

Gio Bernard
Another guy who was discussed a ton.  He was much more of a fan friendly player, and the bulk of us (myself included) loved him.  The debate surrounding him centered mainly on whether or not he was worth the near 5 mil per his previous 2 year extension was for.

Now ---Gio Bernard signed a 1 year 1.21 mil dollar deal with the Bucs.

Geno Atkins
The highest paid of all of these guys, and a guy who had a fantastic career here.  No one would disagree with his previous production, but the conversation revolved around the fact that his last extension was for 16.3 mil per year.  His play had fallen off and he was due a ton of money.  Some wanted to move on completely, some wanted to rework his deal down to a lower amount.

Now --- Geno Atkins is currently unsigned and has remained on the market for over a month.

Carlos Dunlap
This is a player many wanted to move on from during the disaster that was the 2019 season.  Even more wanted to move on from after.  He was a guy that was due a TON of money over the last 3 years of his deal ('19-'21 @ over 12 mil per)

Now --- Carlos Dunalp signed a 2 year deal for 16.9 mil (8.45 mil per) with Seahawks.

Darqueze Dennard
A former first round pick that many wanted retain prior to the signings of Trae Waynes, and Mackenzie Alexander.  A lot of people thought that keeping both him and the previously mentioned Dre Kirkpatrick was the way to go for 2020.

Now --- Darqueze Dennard signed a 1 year 1.01 mil dollar deal with the Falcons.  He previously signed a similar deal (1 year 1.19 mil deal) with them in 2020.

Shawn Williams
A player that really started to disappoint after his new contract, 4 years 20 million (5 mil per).

Now --- Signed a 1 year 1.21 mill dollar contract with the Cardinals

B.W. Webb
Geoff Hobson described this player as "maybe the best slot corner in the league" after he was added in free agency in 2019 for 3 years, 10.5 mil.

Now --- B.W. Webb is currently unsigned.  He was cut after only one season here, and was released from the Cardinals in training camp in 2020.  He's been out of the league ever since.

Josh Bynes
Here's a guy that we just brought in last year.  Many thought he was great addition and proven veteran, others though he was a career backup.

Now --- Josh Bynes is currently unsigned, and has sat on the open market for 2 months.

Alex Erikson
Here's a guy we were paying over 2 mil a year to return punts and do it not that well.  He was a fan favorite earlier in his career primarily because he was undrafted and he was white, which translates into "I love his effort".

Now --- Signed a 1 year contract 1.2 mil dollar deal with the Texans.

I think it's pretty interesting to see how these guys values have been set by the open market vs. how they were valued here by some on JN.  I think it's safe to say that all were either overpaid or they weren't very good, and that moving on from each and every one of them was a good move.

Anybody want to fire up that Bobby Hart wasn't overpaid debate again?  Gio, Kirkpatrick, Geno, Carlos, etc????

[TecmoBengals]

My man, let's not ruin draft week with talk of Bobby Hart.

Regarding Atkins, I think if he demonstrates no injuries then he'll sign with a playoff bound team like the Bills or Titans later in the summer.

[RC28]

This is a great thread, cant really argue with the numbers - seems like Carlos was the best (most valuable) of the group in the eyes of the league.

Could certainly make the argument that Gio had the best landing of anyone including Carlos minus the pay - I'm sure he isn't too upset with his pay given his surrounding cast nowadays!

I'm mostly bummed about how Shawn Williams' career played out, he was a joy to watch there for awhile

[impactplaya]

Im surprised the Texans actually signed Alex Erickson
I never saw so much praise for a very average player

I think Dre Kirkpatrick will land somewhere due to a,injury

Geno may not be totally healed

[Shake n Blake]

I don't see any reason to bring race into it. Plenty of black players were hyped on here and did less than Erickson...who was an average return guy and decent WR depth. And tbh, was Erickson really all that hyped? By who?

Responding to your overall post, I'd say the Bengals at least got rid of these players, which is more than we could say in the past. Most of these guys were producing when we signed them. Bobby Hart though...there's no excusing that. I have no idea what they were thinking.

Troy Blackburn getting all salty about it was comical. It's like he knew they got burned on that deal but was hoping the fanbase wouldn't notice. Then when we noticed, he got all pissy.

[Shake n Blake]

Geno is either injured or completely washed up from injury.

[Murdock2420]

I would be curious if Gio took less money to sign to Tampa though?

Not saying his cap number here wasn't too high but I'm curious what the other teams that reached out to him offered.

Be hard to pass up the chance to sign on that loaded team in that weak division and know you have a pretty easy path to a deep playoff run.

[Au165]

I still don't think Atkins can clear a physical yet so that one is a bit of an outlier.

[kalibengal]

(04-26-2021, 02:18 PM)impactplaya Wrote: Im surprised the Texans actually signed Alex Erickson
I never saw so much praise for a very average player

I think Dre Kirkpatrick will land somewhere due to a,injury

Geno may not be totally healed

even more surprising is the Texans made that trade to get Finley from Bengals....I stll cant believe we got another pick out of that.   

[*Nately120*]

John Ross - signed with the Giants, gonna make us all eat crow

Armon Binns- QC coach for the Bearcats, occasionally pretends to be Larry Fitzgerald to this day

[*ochocincos*]

(04-26-2021, 02:19 PM)Shake n Blake Wrote: I don't see any reason to bring race into it. Plenty of black players were hyped on here and did less than Erickson...who was an average return guy and decent WR depth. And tbh, was Erickson really all that hyped? By who?

Responding to your overall post, I'd say the Bengals at least got rid of these players, which is more than we could say in the past. Most of these guys were producing when we signed them. Bobby Hart though...there's no excusing that. I have no idea what they were thinking.

Troy Blackburn getting all salty about it was comical. It's like he knew they got burned on that deal but was hoping the fanbase wouldn't notice. Then when we noticed, he got all pissy.

You can't expect to find top-tier guys off the shelf at Wal Mart, Shake.

[*bfine32*]

OP forgot a QB

[Stewy]

Likely some of these guys get signed after the draft to fill holes. League minimum stuff.

[Destro]

John Ross has a history on these boards, as well. I'm sure he will get a touchdown and people will be ready to pounce and say "see, he is absolute beast when used properly," and pretend he wasn't track guy without confidence who couldn't do anything through two coaching staffs, multiple QBs and spent more time with an orthopedist office than the WR room. In 2 years, he'll probably be as close to being an NFL receiver as I am.

[*ochocincos*]

(04-26-2021, 03:33 PM)Destro Wrote: John Ross has a history on these boards, as well. I'm sure he will get a touchdown and people will be ready to pounce and say "see, he is absolute beast when used properly," and pretend he wasn't track guy without confidence who couldn't do anything through two coaching staffs, multiple QBs and spent more time with an orthopedist office than the WR room. In 2 years, he'll probably be as close to being an NFL receiver as I am.

I have my "Ross is back!" replies ready in a Notepad. Ready to copy and paste them as soon as it happens!

[TJHoushmandzadeh's Shiny Shoes]

(04-26-2021, 01:54 PM)Wes Mantooth Wrote: I thought I'd check in on some Bengals players who have departed the team since Zac Taylor's reign started.  Many of these guys were often discussed on here (should we keep them, are they overpaid, etc.) and I think taking a look at where they are now is interesting.

Bobby Hart
Bobby Hart, more than any other player, was debated and critqued on this site.  There was a number of conversations about whether or not he was bad, just exactly how bad was he, how he improved, ect.  One poster in particular would often point out that he was a decent starting OT.  "Bobby Hart is actually the 43rd best OT in the NFL" (paraphrased).  We also had numerous conversations about his pay.  Was he overpaid at 7 mil per?  A lot didn't think so.

Now --- Bobby Hart just signed a 1 year deal for the league minimum, 900k with the Bills.

Dre Kirkpatrick
Another guy that got talked about a ton.  Was he overpaid?  Fwiw, the same poster who liked to say that Bobby Hart was actually a decent starter made the claim that Kirkpatrick wasn't overpaid and that he would see a similar amount on the open market to the 10 mil he was making here.  Others did as well.

Now --- Dre Kirkpatrick is currently unsigned.  He signed a 1 year 1.05 mil dollar deal after being cut in 2020.

Gio Bernard
Another guy who was discussed a ton.  He was much more of a fan friendly player, and the bulk of us (myself included) loved him.  The debate surrounding him centered mainly on whether or not he was worth the near 5 mil per his previous 2 year extension was for.

Now ---Gio Bernard signed a 1 year 1.21 mil dollar deal with the Bucs.

Geno Atkins
The highest paid of all of these guys, and a guy who had a fantastic career here.  No one would disagree with his previous production, but the conversation revolved around the fact that his last extension was for 16.3 mil per year.  His play had fallen off and he was due a ton of money.  Some wanted to move on completely, some wanted to rework his deal down to a lower amount.

Now --- Geno Atkins is currently unsigned and has remained on the market for over a month.

Carlos Dunlap
This is a player many wanted to move on from during the disaster that was the 2019 season.  Even more wanted to move on from after.  He was a guy that was due a TON of money over the last 3 years of his deal ('19-'21 @ over 12 mil per)

Now --- Carlos Dunalp signed a 2 year deal for 16.9 mil (8.45 mil per) with Seahawks.

Darqueze Dennard
A former first round pick that many wanted retain prior to the signings of Trae Waynes, and Mackenzie Alexander.  A lot of people thought that keeping both him and the previously mentioned Dre Kirkpatrick was the way to go for 2020.

Now --- Darqueze Dennard signed a 1 year 1.01 mil dollar deal with the Falcons.  He previously signed a similar deal (1 year 1.19 mil deal) with them in 2020.

Shawn Williams
A player that really started to disappoint after his new contract, 4 years 20 million (5 mil per).

Now --- Signed a 1 year 1.21 mill dollar contract with the Cardinals

B.W. Webb
Geoff Hobson described this player as "maybe the best slot corner in the league" after he was added in free agency in 2019 for 3 years, 10.5 mil.

Now --- B.W. Webb is currently unsigned.  He was cut after only one season here, and was released from the Cardinals in training camp in 2020.  He's been out of the league ever since.

Josh Bynes
Here's a guy that we just brought in last year.  Many thought he was great addition and proven veteran, others though he was a career backup.

Now --- Josh Bynes is currently unsigned, and has sat on the open market for 2 months.

Alex Erikson
Here's a guy we were paying over 2 mil a year to return punts and do it not that well.  He was a fan favorite earlier in his career primarily because he was undrafted and he was white, which translates into "I love his effort".

Now --- Signed a 1 year contract 1.2 mil dollar deal with the Texans.

I think it's pretty interesting to see how these guys values have been set by the open market vs. how they were valued here by some on JN.  I think it's safe to say that all were either overpaid or they weren't very good, and that moving on from each and every one of them was a good move.

Anybody want to fire up that Bobby Hart wasn't overpaid debate again?  Gio, Kirkpatrick, Geno, Carlos, etc????

You seem to be saying that Zac didn't have the talent to work with and must have been some sort of miracle worker to extract as many wins as he did?

[*ochocincos*]

Turns out nearly every one of these guys was not worth the contract they were getting from the Bengals, as everyone aside from Dunlap makes $2 mill/year or less.

To be fair though, I'd take many of these guys for $2 mill or less and be a depth piece.

[Murdock2420]

(04-26-2021, 02:49 PM)kalibengal Wrote: even more surprising is the Texans made that trade to get Finley from Bengals....I stll cant believe we got another pick out of that.   

We didn't actually get a pick, we traded our 7th and Finley for their 6th. Just moved up a little in the later rounds. 

Granted, that is still better then just releasing him outright.

[J24]

You have to factor in the Cap going down and how that affected a lot of these guys prices. Also Geno probably gets signed in July or August. Some championship contender will want him.

[XenoMorph]

(04-26-2021, 04:05 PM)ochocincos Wrote: Turns out nearly every one of these guys was not worth the contract they were getting from the Bengals, as everyone aside from Dunlap makes $2 mill/year or less.

To be fair though, I'd take many of these guys for $2 mill or less and be a depth piece.

in a normal year some of these contracts might have been Different.

some signed prove it deals