HoosierCat Posted March 9 Author Report Posted March 9 I have my doubts too, but they did more than I thought they would today, at least. PFF likes their day a lot. Note that “very good” is their top grade. EDGE Boye Mafe signs with Cincinnati Bengals 2025 PFF Grade: 70.3 2025 PFF WAR: 0.09 Contract: 3 years, $60 million PFF Projected Contract: 3 years, $49 million PFF Deal Grade: Very Good The Bengals make their second addition of the tampering period's first day, and it's another strong move to boost their defense. Mafe has earned a PFF overall grade above 70.0 and produced 40 or more pressures in each of the past three seasons. Given that Trey Hendrickson is unlikely to return to Cincinnati, this was a shrewd move at a reasonable price, all things considered. S Bryan Cook signs with Cincinnati Bengals 2025 PFF Grade: 83.5 2025 PFF WAR: 0.11 Contract: 3 years, $40.25 million PFF Projected Contract: 3 years, $36 million PFF Deal Grade: Very Good Cook's 83.5 PFF overall grade in 2025 ranked fourth among all safeties. Meanwhile, the Bengals‘ starting safeties ranked tied for 57th and 72nd. This moves the needle for Cincinnati's defense, giving it a sure tackler who notched PFF grades above 80.0 both against the run and in coverage last season. Quote
ArmyBengal Posted March 9 Report Posted March 9 Ok bear with me… I thought the signing of Cook would lessen my irritation with not giving up a 7th rounder for Minkah. It hasn’t. If anything I’m more annoyed at this point because a safety duo of Bryan Cook and Minkah Fitzpatrick is quite appealing. I will hope for Battle to do well but do not think he’s anything more than a solid backup and breather guy. Quote
COB Posted March 10 Report Posted March 10 At least they did something. Signing a top tier guy, as we all knew, was not going to happen. So this is about as good as it gets for us. Looking forward to watching these guys play, hopefully they’ll be desperate to prove themselves. Quote
HoosierCat Posted March 10 Author Report Posted March 10 Yates top 10 mock after today. Downs, Delane both gone. So we take Bain and I rejoice. https://www.espn.com/nfl/draft2026/story/_/id/48151878/2026-nfl-free-agency-mock-draft-field-yates-first-round-predictions-signings Quote
HoosierCat Posted March 10 Author Report Posted March 10 3 hours ago, HoosierCat said: Persistent Twitter rumors that the Bengals, panthers and Saints are fighting over Devin Lloyd. Dunno if there’s anything too it but just fyi. Rumor update, now supposedly us v NO. Quote
ArmyBengal Posted March 10 Report Posted March 10 I would love the Bain pick as well. Still time to add another safety to the mix, as well as CB and OT. Talk of Reader being interested in returning but something tells me he’s simply interested in getting paid a salary this coming season. My two LB targets in Chenel and Lloyd are still there as well. Please get one Bengals. Quote
HoosierCat Posted March 10 Author Report Posted March 10 29 minutes ago, HoosierCat said: Rumor update, now supposedly us v NO. lol Carolina wins 3/45 per Schefter. Sorry to fall for Twitter rumors. Quote
Stripes Posted March 10 Report Posted March 10 Major "insiders" were reporting the same thing. Carolina must have made a big final push or Lloyd was using the other two for leverage. Quote
ArmyBengal Posted March 10 Report Posted March 10 What about teaming up the veteran Bobby Wagner with our rookies? Dude is still killing it at 35 and probably looking for a one year deal that won’t be $15 million. Quote
COB Posted March 10 Report Posted March 10 I wonder why the Lions aren’t interested in keeping Reader. Or maybe they are and he wants to use us as leverage. If cheap, I can see bringing him in as a rotation guy to mentor Bain, assuming he falls to us. Unrelated to our quest, but I’m curious what Hendrickson ends up getting. Quote
HoosierCat Posted March 10 Author Report Posted March 10 Didn’t see much chatter around Hendrickson yesterday beyond some speculation linking him to Dallas. Age and injury concerns slowing a signing? Or maybe Trey and his agent approached this with the same level of competence they demonstrated here? Quote
HoosierCat Posted March 10 Author Report Posted March 10 Walder loves the Mafe signing. https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/47911726/2026-nfl-free-agency-grades-signings-trades-latest-best-worst-deals-draft-outlook Bengals sign edge Boye Mafe Terms: Three years for $60 million, per NFL Network Grade: A- With Trey Hendrickson and Joseph Ossai walking out the door, the Bengals badly needed some pass-rush help. They got it in the form of Mafe, probably my favorite edge rusher in this year's free agent class. Mafe has always been something of a win-rate darling. On a new team with more playing time, he has a chance to show the sacks can follow the underlying metrics (as they did in 2023, when he had nine sacks). Though Mafe was more of a rotational player last season than he has been in the past -- he started only four games and played only 50% of the snaps -- his pass rush win rate at edge ranked in the 86th percentile. It was not a fluke, he was in the 67th percentile in his breakout 2023 season. And he does more than rush the passer. He's a plus-defender against the run, too, finishing in the 80th percentile in run stop win rate at edge. At $20 million per year, Mafe is coming in well behind Jaelan Phillips and Odafe Oweh, who agreed to deals for $30 million and $25 million per year, respectively, earlier Monday. And yet if you told me a year from now that Mafe had the best year of the three, I would hardly be surprised. I think Mafe will go a long way to helping the Bengals get their defense back on track ... and on a decent contract, too. Quote
HoosierCat Posted March 10 Author Report Posted March 10 Hendrickson situation gets clearer. Bottom line is it seems the Bengals aren’t the only team who think Trey has an inflated sense of his value. https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/buffalo-bills/news/trey-hendrickson-rumor-good-news-bills-cowboys-eagles-raiders/245256ce455fb54fd83ba08e Quote According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, Hendrickson's market has not played out the way he envisioned and he is not getting the kinds of offers other edge rusher have gotten so far. As a result, Hendrickson is waiting in the wings to see if a team will come up to his asking price, which appears to be anywhere from $30-40 million per year. "Trey Hendrickson sees himself in the company of [Danielle Hunter and Jaelan Phillips]," Schefter reported. "And so you would think there would be a corresponding contract in that vicinity. "But if there's not a team out there that's willing to give you $40 or $30 million, sometimes it takes a player a little bit of time to understand how the market works like that and to accept that just because Danielle Hunter might get 40, you might not get 40. Just because Jaelan Phillips gets 30, doesn't mean you get 30. "And so right now he's talking to a bunch of teams, but nobody has met his price just yet and he's a very strong-minded, prideful person. He wants to get his price and until he feels like he does, he's not willing to going to compromise." Gee, who could have seen this coming? Oh wait, we all did. 1 Quote
ArmyBengal Posted March 10 Report Posted March 10 I think the Bengals are screwed at the DT position. There aren't any guys out there that present as a true upgrade in comparison to what's already on the roster. Second to that is most of the teams that have elite interior pass rushers know their value and are building around them, so the trade opportunities are next to nil. That leaves us trotting BJ Hill and TJ Slaton back out there again this year with Jenkins and McKinnley as well. I know McKinnley wasn't happy with his reduced role and Jenkins hasn't done much with his snaps. I'm not the biggest fan of the DT draft class either regardless of what the analysts are saying. Many of the players thought to go in the first 2 rounds don't have big TFL or sack numbers during college. That being the case, I cannot see that suddenly increasing once getting drafted. The top 3 guys (Woods, Banks and McDonald) are players I want nothing to do with and that includes one of my beloved Buckeyes. I just don't think their play warrants the rankings heading into the draft. There are more than a handful of guys from the 3rd to the 5th round that all look vaguely familiar to me. The Bengals and Al are going to have to find a way to generate a pass rush this year and hope the back end stays healthy. As much as I was pleased with the two signings yesterday, I'm nowhere close to be sold on how much better this defense can be in 2026. Obviously, I could be totally wrong and they turn into a top half of the league unit. I'm just not willing to hold my breath on that one. 1 Quote
HoosierCat Posted March 10 Author Report Posted March 10 Thomas Booker would be an interesting roll of the dice at DT. He’s an RFA and would cost a 5th if LV chose not to match. But yeah the DT cupboard is pretty bare. Quote
ArmyBengal Posted March 10 Report Posted March 10 Here's something else to consider now the Bengals have added a couple of pieces to the mix. I mentioned where a Maxx Crosby trade didn't make sense without other players possessing talent. If we are led to believe that both Mafe and Cook have added two solid pieces of talent, is there a trade out there you would be willing to give up picks to consider? They aren't moving him, but Jeffrey Simmons would be amazing to nab for the middle of our D-line and would give up the picks to get him in stripes. Maybe a Jalen Carter? Anyway, you get my point... Quote
ArmyBengal Posted March 10 Report Posted March 10 Talk about an odd thought entering my head. It would be funny to see teams continue to shun Trey, only to see the Bengals swoop back into the mix on a much reduced deal. Don't get me wrong, I think Trey would still up taking a reduced amount elsewhere, but the thought did jump in my head today. Quote
HoosierCat Posted March 10 Author Report Posted March 10 I doubt Trey would return. I’m sure he blames the Bengals for his situation. It’s not, it’s him and his incompetent agent, but he doesn’t seem interested in hearing that, so here we are. Quote
ArmyBengal Posted March 10 Report Posted March 10 Yeah, just one of those "stranger things have happened" kind of deals. Not expecting or even wanting from my perspective, but nonetheless... Quote
ArmyBengal Posted March 10 Report Posted March 10 Man I really wanted Devin Lloyd. So pissed they couldn't get that done. Quote
HoosierCat Posted March 10 Author Report Posted March 10 25 minutes ago, ArmyBengal said: Here's something else to consider now the Bengals have added a couple of pieces to the mix. I mentioned where a Maxx Crosby trade didn't make sense without other players possessing talent. If we are led to believe that both Mafe and Cook have added two solid pieces of talent, is there a trade out there you would be willing to give up picks to consider? They aren't moving him, but Jeffrey Simmons would be amazing to nab for the middle of our D-line and would give up the picks to get him in stripes. Maybe a Jalen Carter? Anyway, you get my point... How about DT Osa Odighizuwa from Dallas? Eight sacks and 64 pressures over the last two years. 27 years old. Rumor mill has it that the Cowboys offered him up as part of their failed pursuit of Crosby. Quote
ArmyBengal Posted March 10 Report Posted March 10 I mentioned DJ Reader previously and keep hearing his name brought up, but I'm more inclined to take a look at and consider Logan Hall. I hadn't really considered either of them, but when looking at who was still out there, Hall's name popped up. I did the obligatory look see over at PFF and saw the comparison. Hall took 611 snaps last year, had 32 pressures, 2 sacks and a forced fumble. The intriguing stat is the pressures. His 32 were 32nd best in the league out of 225. Reader took 583 snaps last year, had 20 pressures, no sacks, and no forced fumbles. In comparison to what we have on the roster: BJ Hill took 670 snaps last year, had 29 pressures, 5 sacks and no forced fumbles. TJ Slaton took 582 snaps last year, had 19 pressures, 3 sacks and no forced fumbles. Reader is 31 years old Hill is 30 years old Slaton is 28 years old Hall is 25 years old I don't care about PFF grades, because I don't. I think they are stupid. Hall is young and presents as at least an upgrade to both Jenkins and Jackson. 1 Quote
Stripes Posted March 10 Report Posted March 10 With Lloyd gone, Hall is probably my most-preferred FA remaining. The linebacker upgrade may be there in the draft between Reese and Styles. Quote
HoosierCat Posted March 10 Author Report Posted March 10 The Panthers release DL A’Shawn Robinson to create $10.5 million in cap space can’t look up right now but another name Quote
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