HoosierCat

He barely played the previous two years. Becton actually had a solid rookie campaign in 2020, but he only had 48 snaps the next year and missed all of 2022. So that he was bad on a bad offense after two years off doesn’t surprise me. If he can stay healthy I think he would be an upgrade, though that wouldn’t stop me from taking Latham or Fuaga at 18.

That’s been the theory. Hopefully it works out.

The Mixon trade is the only move I hate. Everything else so far is fine.

True but it’s a pretty deep DT class this year. They should be able to find a good run stuffing prospect in rounds 2 or 3. I hate losing Reader too but that $26 million number says to me that he isn’t coming back.

2 years, $26 million, per Garafolo, for Rankins. A bit steep but that’s FA for you.

Rankins would be a welcome addition. Almost certainly means Reader is gone.

That said, Ridley gets paid. https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/39725390/titans-snag-wr-calvin-ridley-4-year-92m-deal If I’m the bengals I text Mulugheta and tell him we’ll do that for Tee.

I think the WR market has some of the same issues as the OT market, in that there are 5-6 guys who could go in the first, so there’s not a lot of action yet. I wouldn’t rule out a Boyd (or Jonah) return just yet.

Raiders releasing WR Hunter Renfrow. He would be an interesting option if Boyd indeed doesn’t return.

SD news: Mack restructuring, WR Mike Williams getting released.

Cutting Scott frees up $2.3 million in cap space. Per spotrac, the Bengals currently have about $45 million in space, but that doesn’t include Sample, ADG and Traveyon yet. Figure those three take up about $5-6 million combined. So Bengals now have around $41 million.

This OTOH aggravates the hell out of me. https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/report-texans-to-trade-maliek-collins-to-49ers 48 tackles and 5 sacks last year and he goes for a 7.

Good. Anything that gives a team above us less incentive to draft a tackle is fine by me.

Yeah, Chargers are hosed.

Yeah, in that Gesicki video Malik Wright was willing to bet one of his audience $100 that they won’t take Bowers if he’s there. Says they are one of the teams that share the size/weight concerns and aren’t interested. Elaborate deception campaign can’t be ruled out but Wright has been right enough times in the past that I trust his sources. By all accounts it’s a bad year for safety. First one might not go before the third round. So yeah, Stone was a good get. I haven’t looked closely at RB but have not seen much buzz at the position this year, so I’m not expecting them to go there early. 18 looks like OT, DT or WR. And I’m wavering on including DT there because I think they’re going to believe they can get a DT in the second. I’m pretty sure they want OT, but if they all get snapped up before 18, I got a shiny new nickel that says they pivot to WR without a backwards glance.

Well, it’s always been a question mark as to whether he would be back in time for the start of the season and, if so, at what level. But even if the answers are yes and 100 percent, Reader turns 30 in July and the Bengals have never been fond of large contracts for older guys. I would guess they want something short, 1-2 years, while DJ is looking for that last big deal. If that’s the case I’m not optimistic but we’ll see.

Reader visiting Detroit tomorrow. https://www.freep.com/story/sports/nfl/lions/2024/03/13/detroit-lions-free-agency-dt-d-j-reader-to-visit-this-week/72952798007/

Bengals had a sizable contingent at Georgia’s pro day. https://www.si.com/nfl/bengals/news/bengals-send-multiple-coaches-to-georgia-bulldogs-pro-day

Mike Gesicki hype:

And remember who he burned? Hint: rhymes with Sick Nott…

We’re gonna miss this guy.

Just for reference, as of an hour ago, espn’s top 5 remaining FAs were: 1. Danielle Hunter, EDGE 2. Arik Armstead, DT 3. Kendall Fuller, CB 4. Tyron Smith, OT 5. Calvin Ridley, WR As of 30 minutes ago, Hunter signed with Houston.

I think that’s the case. At least at the moment, I suspect that the points made earlier in this thread about Gesicki being seen more as a Boyd replacement are accurate. They’ve re-signed Sample and notably not (yet) Hudson, and Hobs just put up a piece slobbering all over Drew for being the third best pass blocking TE in the league last year. So, theory: (again at the moment, subject to change) they may have just decided to return to the old ways of having the TE be primarily a sixth offensive lineman.