Pass Rush Options…

[Bengalbug]

I know we don’t typically go after FAs in their 30s, but lots of intriguing options that would help this defense close out games. Each presents strength and weaknesses, but i think any of them would be a plus on the 23-24 bengals as a situational player.

Rank
27
Yannick Ngakoue
Yannick Ngakoue
Edge · Age: 28
Sacks and QB hits sell, but Ngakoue's inability to stop the run is probably why he's likely headed to his sixth team in four years. This section of the Top 101 is where the 2023 crop begins to feel thinner than groups from previous years, because there aren't as many plus starters available.

Rank
36
Jadeveon Clowney
Jadeveon Clowney
Edge · Age: 30
Another year, another Top 101 free agents blurb for Clowney. He gets a little lower on the list each season; the ugly ending to his time in Cleveland doesn't bode well for his value.

Rank
50
Leonard Floyd
Leonard Floyd
Edge · Age: 30
Floyd may not have hit double-digit sacks last season, but he played well down the stretch after getting over a knee injury. The veteran is a quality run stopper who can upgrade plenty of starting jobs around the league.

52
Calais Campbell
Calais Campbell
DE · Age: 37
Campbell’s snap totals and PFF score dipped in Baltimore from his otherworldly previous totals, but he was still an above-average pocket pusher and run stopper at age 36. If he wants to play, he can help a team while adding great leadership and a beautiful baritone.

53
Melvin Ingram
Melvin Ingram
Edge · Age: 34
Every year, I rank Ingram high in this list. Then no NFL team seems to want him, and then he balls out for a while. Even if he goes off-script sometimes, the chaos is worth it.

Rank
67
Frank Clark
Frank Clark
Edge · Age: 30
Clark played a lot for the Chiefs -- perhaps too much. That helped him rack up more than 50 pressures in each of the last two years, but he’d be better used as a rotational pass rusher at this stage in his career.

Rank
71
Justin Houston
Justin Houston
Edge · Age: 34
It's just silly how Houston never gets old. He is like the edge version of Calais Campbell and isn't that far from having a case to be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame someday.

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

The only one of those guys I don't really care for is Clowney, he has been overrated since he entered the league and is
always complaining about being underrated and wanting more money. I just don't like the guy. Give me anyone of the other
Ends you mentioned and I am happy. Think Ngakoue might be a little spendy for just a pass rush specialist.

I think one of the older guys would come here for cheap ring chasing. Floyd, Clark, Houston, Campbell, Ingram...

Anyone of these guys would be a nice addition to our pass rush.

[kalibengal]

(03-17-2023, 02:53 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: The only one of those guys I don't really care for is Clowney, he has been overrated since he entered the league and is
always complaining about being underrated and wanting more money. I just don't like the guy. Give me anyone of the other
Ends you mentioned and I am happy. Think Ngakoue might be a little spendy for just a pass rush specialist.

I think one of the older guys would come here for cheap ring chasing. Floyd, Clark, Houston, Campbell, Ingram...

Anyone of these guys would be a nice addition to our pass rush.

I read a blurb on a trade idea with LAC and Mack.....hmmm?

[Bengalbug]

(03-17-2023, 04:42 PM)kalibengal Wrote: I read a blurb on a trade idea with LAC and Mack.....hmmm?

No one wants that contract. Plus Mack isn’t all that diff than the guys above

[Bengalholic]

No idea how much he's asking for, but a guy I really like is Dante Fowler, Jr. I think he would be a great addition if you can get him at a reasonable number.

[BuildTheWall]

No Markus Golden? Had 11 sacks in 2021. I know his production dipped last year but I think he can still provide a little juice in as a situational role player, which is all he'd be asked to do. May also want to ring chase at his age. Always been a fan of him.

[BFritz21]

Hell no on Clowney. We don't need the drama that diva would bring.

You can never have too many pass rushers, so I'd take any of those other guys on a one-or-two year deal to be rotational guys with incentives in the contract, unless we could get Yannick for a few years because the other dudes seem too old to invest much in.

[Joelist]

We're looking more for inside pass rush than edge.

[Housh]

(03-17-2023, 05:59 PM)Joelist Wrote: We're looking more for inside pass rush than edge.

We are one of the only really good teams without an inside guy that causes havoc against the pass. Reader is a DT beast but he’s not a pass rusher



That Cancy dude would be great at 28

[Bengalholic]

(03-17-2023, 05:59 PM)Joelist Wrote: We're looking more for inside pass rush than edge.

We need both IMO, whether it's in free agency or the draft. The pass rush just got shut down or failed to get home too many times last year. 

[phil413]

Nice list, I'll take any of them. Most likely could be Houston or Ingram.

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

(03-17-2023, 04:42 PM)kalibengal Wrote: I read a blurb on a trade idea with LAC and Mack.....hmmm?

Too much dough.

(03-17-2023, 04:47 PM)Bengalbug Wrote: No one wants that contract.  Plus Mack isn’t all that diff than the guys above

Sure isn't the player he was on the Raidas.

(03-17-2023, 04:50 PM)Bengalholic Wrote: No idea how much he's asking for, but a guy I really like is Dante Fowler, Jr. I think he would be a great addition if you can get him at a reasonable number.

I like Fowler, is he a FA?

(03-17-2023, 04:57 PM)BuildTheWall Wrote: No Markus Golden? Had 11 sacks in 2021. I know his production dipped last year but I think he can still provide a little juice in as a situational role player, which is all he'd be asked to do. May also want to ring chase at his age. Always been a fan of him.

All for Golden as well.

(03-17-2023, 05:59 PM)Joelist Wrote: We're looking more for inside pass rush than edge.

We will see, who would that be that is out there? Rankins? Fox?

[Bengalbug]

These guys could be had dirt cheap on one year deals at this point.

[PDub80]

I don't love any of these options. If I had to sign one it would be Clark on a 2 year as a rotational guy, but only for rotational guy money.

I prefer to give money to proven O linemen, the Safety RAPP, and draft D line.

Would LOVE to see Jonah traded for some sort of Dlineman who the Bengals scouted and were high on. Even a developmental guy. The more I look at the cash saved, I would take anything for Jonah at this point just to have the cash to buy something I wanted.

[jj22]

Some good options still. Probably the deepest Fa position.

[Bengalstripes9]

These guys are all very old, and likely want to start. I don’t know if this fits our strategy. They like to look at young ascending players. This is where I see us drafting someone or looking at a young ascending player that’s cheaper.

[jj22]

They’ve got this new philosophy about aging players but apart of being a legit contender is attracting some of those aged vets seeking a ring. You can sometimes get that final good year out of them before they are done. For low costs. We should be or start attracting some of these vets.