HoosierCat

Yah ok now we’re starting to get somewhere. Give us your 2nd, Indy. And I want to flip our firsts, so we move up to 14. And toss in a, say, fifth. I could go for that.

Draft picks have swung back to being (arguably over) valued in the last couple years due to exploding salaries, Chase being a prime example. Every owner now craves a stud on their rookie deal as much as they hate to part with the inevitable second contract bag. That’s why I’ve laughed at the idea of getting a first for Trey, at least in 2025. If the Bengals were willing to consider future comp they might. I’m not a big fan of the idea tho, they need guys now not in a couple years.

Also, remember 80% of the “reporting” out there this year is written by ChatGPT for sites like “leftnutrightnut dot com”.

I wouldn’t call it trade-shamed so much as the typical “heads I win, tails you lose” set up Cincy gets in the media. If they sign Trey to a big money deal, the media reax will be, lol stupid Bengals, they have way too many needs on defense to spend so much on a 30-year-old DE, Mike Brown has no idea how to build a roster. If they trade Trey, the media reax will be, lol stupid Bengals, trading away their best defender, Mike Brown has no idea how to build a roster. (And note that if they trade him the compensation won’t matter. They could get 10 first round picks and the media would still say, lol, stupid Bengals, didn’t get enough, Mike Brown has no idea how to build a roster, trade grade F.)

Normally I am the first one to yell about the Bengals' inept front office, but this year I can't find a lot to get exercised about. Would I like a decent guard? Yes, but the seem to be trying to get one. Would I like to see the Big 3 situations resolved? Also yes, but Amphar is correct that there is no rule that those deals have to come on my personal preferred timetable. As for the moves they've made so far, I'm generally happy with them. Gesicki was my No. 1 house FA after Higgins, and his price tag looks even better since the Saints spent $10m/year on Juwan Johnson and the Broncos gave Engram $12m/year. Slayton was the kind of guy they ought to have signed after letting Reader go, which like Perine they shouldn't have done in the first place. If Samaje hasn't lost a step he's an upgrade over Trayveon. Hill can still play and Ossai gets a one year prove it deal. Not sure what people were expecting.

Yeah, Hubbard was nursing a knee, Trey was out with a bruised chest and then Sample tore his achilles. Basically our pass rush fell to pieces at the start of August last year, and never really recovered.

Kahlil Herbert moves on to Indy.

So far FA has been pretty meh league-wide, imho.

Hey wraith, long time no see! Sounds like a plan, but I don't get the impression that they will deal Higgins and I'm not convinced Hendrickson is going to get an offer the Bengals can't refuse. I'd like to get at least one vet guard in free agency. They seems to be trying if reports are true, don't know if they will succeed.

I mean, sure, I guess, but at the moment it doesn’t seem like they need space. Even with the signings they’ve done so far they should still have like $18 million left, plus $40 million more locked up in Chase and Trey.

Joe talks day 1 (or day -2 or whatever it is...) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-aLrrZRtTc&t=3s

Schefty:

I would agree and disagree. On Chase, I agree. They had the deal pretty much done last year but got stubborn as usual on guarantees and now it's going to cost them big time. 100% on the FO. On Hendrickson, well, they *did* pay him! And now he's crying that they didn't pay him enough. Well, whose fault is that, dumbass? No one held a gun to your head and made you sign that extension. I put that 100% on Hendrickson. On Tee, I continue to believe they had no plans to re-sign him until Burton imploded and Burrow made it an issue. I think you can argue that plan either way. But it is what it is now, and the result is a higher price tag than if they had made a different call two years ago. If anything I have to give the FO some small props here for adjusting and not stubbornly plowing on.

ADG headed for Arizona. 2 years, $11 million. Good for him. https://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/nfl/bengals/2025/03/11/akeem-davis-gaither-free-agent-linebacker-leaves-bengals-arizona-cardinals/75528821007/

ATTN ARMY ARMY TO THE WHITE COURTESY PHONE PLEASE. DDN reporting we signed a linebacker. https://www.daytondailynews.com/sports/bengals-reportedly-adding-former-eagles-linebacker/GEN2YFLZUNAUTOHEW372FCD6QU/ 30 years old, 17 starts. Well, ok, that’s interesting.

If you want to talk about this you need to go down to the politics forum, happy to tell you what I think but not in this thread.

Good deal. He’s betting on himself so hopefully he gets after the bag. And we get sacks.

https://www.reddit.com/r/GreenBayPackers/comments/1j87g4h/packers_fans_how_good_was_tj_slaton/ tl;dr he’s fine. Average to above average run stopper and space eater, not much pass rush. Basically the big nose we lacked. Should be a solid rotational guy.

Yup. 2 years, $15 million. https://www.cincyjungle.com/2025/3/10/24382545/tj-slaton-bengals-packers-free-agents-2025

So ends the Zack Moss experiment, I suppose.

Encouraging comments. https://www.cincyjungle.com/2025/3/10/24382395/jamarr-chase-tee-higgins-contract-bengals-update

So Justin Fields to the Jets while Pitt is kicking the tires on Aaron Rogers.

Kevin Zeitler is available… https://www.nfl.com/news/top-101-nfl-free-agents-of-2025-ranked-by-position-which-spots-have-most-least-depth#iol

I like Hill and the price is fine. Still hoping to see a few new players tho. Rolling all the same guys out there next September isn’t likely to yield better results.

Welp, that’s it, folks. Whole next season here: https://g.espncdn.com/s/ffldraftkit/25/NFLDK2025_CS_ClayProjections2025.pdf Bengals lose to Baltimore in the wild card round, Baltimore loses to Buffalo in the Super Bowl, we pick 19th in the 2026 draft.