2024 Offseason News Thread

[Stripes]

I would be pretty concerned about the defense without Reader, because this team hasn't been great drafting any kinds of DTs since they hit the jackpot on Geno 14 years ago. I might say he's a higher priority (if healthy) for me than Higgins, though I acknowledge his age is a factor to account for.

[AMPHAR]

Higgins is the biggest priority right now.

1. Tags are due by end of February.  So they will have to commit cap room to him that soon.  They won't know enough about DJ by the end of this month.  Don't tag Tee, he's gone.

2. Boyd is probably gone.

3. Chase should be the overall off season priority.   If he's not expect a hold out.  He's set to make less than $5m.  An extension could put $30m in his pocket this season and guarantee him $70+ the next 3 seasons.   So No Tee, No Boyd they basically fuck themselves on the draft board and in negotiations with Chase.

 

 

[ArmyBengal]

Ravens lose another piece…

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/reports-dolphins-hire-anthony-weaver-as-their-head-coach

[HoosierCat]

Rex Burkhead calls it a career.

https://bengalswire.usatoday.com/2024/02/06/former-bengals-rb-rex-burkhead-retires-from-nfl/

 

[ArmyBengal]

I saw that as well. Good for Rex.
I always liked that dude.
Wish him nothing but the best !!

[COB]

Wish Burkhead had stayed here.  
 

The Super Bowl this year is not optimal.  We all probably feel a little sorry for the Chiefs.  They drafted Patrick Mahomes with the 10th pick of the 2017 draft, but if they’d just been one pick higher they could have gotten John Ross, who we picked just ahead of them with the 9th pick that year.  Sorry Chiefs, you can’t have everything.

[AMPHAR]

There's been a lot of rumblings over on the Ravens board before the AFC Championship game about Zay Flowers.   Some bad rumors and now more heat is coming down.   If you want to snoop around and get details its over there.

Raven's fans on message boards are all about to start studying criminal law real quick.

[HoosierCat]

Steelers cut three including Trubisky, free up $13m in cap space.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/39513550/steelers-release-three-players-including-qb-mitch-trubisky

[AMPHAR]

19 hours ago, HoosierCat said:

Steelers cut three including Trubisky, free up $13m in cap space.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/39513550/steelers-release-three-players-including-qb-mitch-trubisky

Steelers will be in the QB market.  The other QB is saying he wants a fresh start.   Then Pickett is a large unknown.  It will be interesting to see what they do.  Hopefully it cost them cap room, draft picks and it flops bigger than shit.

[ArmyBengal]

4 hours ago, AMPHAR said:

Hopefully it cost them cap room, draft picks and it flops bigger than shit.

Yeah, sign me up for that…

[HoosierCat]

4 hours ago, AMPHAR said:

Steelers will be in the QB market.  The other QB is saying he wants a fresh start.   Then Pickett is a large unknown.  It will be interesting to see what they do.  Hopefully it cost them cap room, draft picks and it flops bigger than shit.

Yeah the buzz atm is Fields to Pitt, since the assumption is that Chicago is going QB at the top of the draft. 

[AMPHAR]

I would not want Fields in Pittsburgh.   Too much upside and they'd have a cheap 2024 and I'm assuming they'd have an optional 5th year somewhere around $20m.   Hopefully his struggles in Chicago aren't easily fixed if he does land in Pitt.

[ArmyBengal]

It didn’t help Fields that the o-line in Chicago has been absolute shit. 2023 was probably his best line and they were still in the bottom third.  I also don’t think drafting Caleb Williams helps that o-line any, but it does reset that rookie pay for a QB.

Yeah, no to Fields in Pittsburgh…

[HoosierCat]

Once again, AJ to AJ (or anyone else) is not the future.

https://www.bengals.com/news/bengals-roster-moves-a-j-mccaron-released

[COB]

It is pretty well settled, is it not, that they are going to tag Tee Higgins, correct?  
 

 

[ArmyBengal]

Yes to Higgins being tagged.
While I think most here have acknowledged that, it’s getting press now. It’s really a no brainer.

There’s next to zero chance they sign him long term. Not even thinking they should at this point. Just get the man a ring in 2024 !!

[COB]

Ok tag Higgins, sign Jamar to what will probably be the largest wr contract out there.  Let Mike use his magic spinning wheel to spin straw into a top level offensive tackle and we’re all set.

[ArmyBengal]

Chase appears to be waiting for other WR’s (See Jefferson) to sign first. Honestly, I don’t think it matters. When he sees the contract something tells me he won’t care. Then when the next big WR signs, his contract will be less than the next anyway. In a few years he won’t even be in the top 5 WR money.

[AMPHAR]

Just remove the emotion.  NFL fans/media allow emotion to sway logical thinking.     Below is a summary of the elite free agents prior to tags and in no particular order.    I would take ANY of these players on a 1 year deal at their market rate.   Might be a couple more players but the NFL Top free agent lists generally have these names on top.

1. Chris Jones

2. L'Jarius Sneed

3. Jaylon Johnson

4. Josh Allen (the pass rusher)

5. Madubuike

6. Antonie Winfield

7. Tee Higgins

But since Tee Higgins is already a Bengal for some reason that wouldn't count as an elite signing.  Stupid.  Its always been stupid to look at it that way.

Now, reality is these guys are not making it to the market (via tags) OR signing huge multi year deals if they do reach UFA.   The Bengals have a lay up here.  Instantly procure an elite Free Agent by simply playing by the rules.   If Higgins busts in 2024 like he did in 2023.  They can move on easily.    The fact some fans/media would even think this situation as a negative is mind boggling. Take the lay up.  You then control 1 of the elite players in FA.

Once that is done.  The Bengals will rearrange some deck chairs on Lido Deck.   Hopefully match the succes they've done the past couple years.

The most important piece of the entire offseason is Chase.  Get him locked away this summer and they've done a lot of what the media fear mongered for two years over the pending Burrow deal.

Then the biggest question marks in Training Camp will be QB health, Young safeties and right tackle.   

 

[AMPHAR]

Meanwhile in KC, Buffalo and AFC North they don't have "Cap Hell" as it existed in the 1990 but they have some tough roster management issues ahead.

1. KC has 2 elite FAs.  1 Tag and probably enough cap room to cover that tag.  So they'll have to reshuffle some stuff

2. Buffalo is ($50m) over.  I have no idea

3. Miami is ($50m) over.  Again no idea

4. Houston - $65 cap room.  Dangerous team to make waves in AFC

5. Baltimore - ($1m) over.  Bunch of key players as FAs.  Right now can't tag anyone.

6. Browns -  ($20m) over.  No clue but they got issues because they still have Qb concerns

7. Pittsburgh - ($4) over.  Issues.  Namely how do they grab a QB?

Other  AFC team will splash and win the media darling offseason award.   Houston is a real threat.   Cincinnati can actually win it by just tagging and then extending another elite talent.

 

[ArmyBengal]

I heard a good argument recently (sorry I forgot where) but won't say it's an absolute.

If we think Joe Burrow is an elite QB talent (We do and he is) why does he need and why should the Bengals pay for two elite WR's?
I'm more of the "More is better" and there are certainly examples of what happens to a team when there isn't enough talent.

That being said, the Chiefs just won the Super Bowl with 12 WR's on their depth chart and not one that would be better than a #4 here.

Again, not saying I'm all in with that argument, but there's some truth to it as well.

[Stripes]

I think it's valid. If they continue to emphasize the WR position, they can be the Colts of the '00s (I think Burrow is also more like Manning than often regarded). That's probably a good thing. Still, a more balanced roster with a defense that can stay competitive and an offensive line that keeps Joe healthy will require that money be distributed more broadly.

If they make sure they keep Chase and then just draft WRs as effectively as they nearly always have, that should be sufficient to sustain a highly productive offense. The Chiefs are a biased case study because of their strong offensive line, but that's also a method the Bengals could replicate (and improve upon) with Ja'Marr in the fold.

[AMPHAR]

1 hour ago, ArmyBengal said:

I heard a good argument recently (sorry I forgot where) but won't say it's an absolute.

If we think Joe Burrow is an elite QB talent (We do and he is) why does he need and why should the Bengals pay for two elite WR's?
I'm more of the "More is better" and there are certainly examples of what happens to a team when there isn't enough talent.

That being said, the Chiefs just won the Super Bowl with 12 WR's on their depth chart and not one that would be better than a #4 here.

Again, not saying I'm all in with that argument, but there's some truth to it as well.

The "more is better" advantage gets played down.  Greatly.    People present these theories hedging their bet or opinion that Higgins eventually moves on.   So naturally his impact isn't all that great or can easily be replaced.

Saw this same thinking when the Bengals had Dunlap, Atkins, and MJ all on rookie deals.  Most people thought, only 1 could stay, maybe 2.   So it divulged into theories on how MJ sucked because most were guessing he's the one leaving.  He did,  then came back and they probably had one of the best D-lines in the history of the franchise for a couple seasons.

Its not that Joe NEEDS Higgins.  Its more a fact that Higgins with Joe makes alot of plays.  A great number of plays that puts Higgins among the elite in his prime.

So yeah, they could try to replace him.  They could be successful in doing so.

J. Joe when he walked out with Gatorade and broke Zimmer's heart.  They replaced him quickly seamlessly.  Whitworth was disaster.  Zietler was disaster.   

I just kinda default to the fact they draft an elite talent.  It works.  Might as well put best effort forward in keeping him.   

 

 

 

 

[AMPHAR]

1 hour ago, Stripes said:

I think it's valid. If they continue to emphasize the WR position, they can be the Colts of the '00s (I think Burrow is also more like Manning than often regarded). That's probably a good thing. Still, a more balanced roster with a defense that can stay competitive and an offensive line that keeps Joe healthy will require that money be distributed more broadly.

If they make sure they keep Chase and then just draft WRs as effectively as they nearly always have, that should be sufficient to sustain a highly productive offense. The Chiefs are a biased case study because of their strong offensive line, but that's also a method the Bengals could replicate (and improve upon) with Ja'Marr in the fold.

 Colts theory floating around is revisionist history.    Colts did not set out emphasizing the Wide Receiver position.   It also did not cost them anymore post season success.

1st - Any AFC team during that era; no matter how you want to describe their roster strategy; EVERYONE of them lost post season success to Tom Brady and the Patriots.  EVERYONE.

2nd - Harrison was drafted by a different GM in 1996.  Polian was hired in 1998 drafted Peyton.  Then in 2001 they drafted Reggie Wayne.   

The end result of the Colts cap was dictated by their drafting success.  Throughout most of the Manning/Colts era the roster was made up of drafted players.   This was a constant argument among Bengal fans in whether or not they should be building via the draft or Free Agency in the early Marvin Lewis days.

 

 

[COB]

Higgins for one year makes sense.  But when we’re paying our number 1 top of the market money, it makes sense to do everything we can to get our number 2 guy playing on a price controlled rookie contract.  Especially since after next season Burrow’s cap hit gets real.  
 

Let’s assume going all in for a championship next season is the philosophy that drives their decision making in the draft and FA.  And I assume that is the case, just makes sense with Burrow in his prime and with a decent cap number.  In that case you play Higgins.

But if all in for a championship isn’t their philosophy, what then?  Tag him and look for a trade partner.  Presumably his agent would be involved because he’d be getting a new deal once he was traded.  He already called out the Titans as a good landing spot.  Do teams even do the oft-referenced tag and trade anymore?  And what would Higgins value be?  
 

I foresee Higgins playing, Jonah Williams gone in a huff, and we sign a good free agent to play right tackle.  Volson gets pressured via either the draft or a mid level free agent who, if he doesn’t take Volson’s job, is versatile enough to be depth at more than one spot.  
 

Our defense will be improved.  We had a lot of young guys just getting up to speed.  I think the bengals, rightfully, expect big jumps from DJ Turner, DJ Ivey, and Myles Murphy.  Dax Hill could get a lot better, Battle is good.  
 

Also I’m sure the Bengals have an ad on Indeed.com looking for a new punter.  Our guy from Michigan had better show up with a new leg or he’s going to get beat out.