The Bengals have some good options available to bolster a talented defense.
The Cincinnati Bengals are in a unique position where their defense finished near the bottom in the NFL last season but they also have a solid group of young players to build around on defense. What that means is that even though the team dramatically underperformed, the team doesn’t have any dramatic needs on the defensive side of the ball. That gives this talented but underperforming unit the opportunity to make a splash in free agency with $41 million of cap space still available to the team.
Cincinnati Bengals Have Big Option to Collect Elite Defenders
When you have money to spend and minimal holes on the defense, it gives a franchise a ton of flexibility to go out and make a splash on top tier talent. Even though they have two talented young safeties, that is one position where a superstar talent may not cost a huge sum to bring in. Fortunately for Cincinnati, there were two spectacular players that just hit free agency as cap casualties that could make a huge impact on the roster.
The first significant player who was recently cut by the Denver Broncos is Justin Simmons, a free safety who has been an All-Pro four times. It was shocking that Denver was ready to sever relations with Simmons so soon, given he has been widely regarded as one of the top centre fielders in the whole NFL. Sadly, Denver has resort to these kinds of drastic measures in order to conserve money after accepting a record-breaking $85 million salary cap hit following the firing of great quarterback Russell Wilson.
In terms of scheme, Simmons would easily take Dax Hill’s job at free safety as a third-year player. There is already conjecture that Hill is not performing at his best and should go to a slot cornerback position in 2025 following the likely exit of standout player Mike Hilton. Even though Simmons would probably cost the organisation $15 million a year, the long-term savings from cutting Hilton roughly made up for the 30% loss. A young secondary that comprised D.J. Turner and Cam Taylor-Britt, two outstanding second-round picks, would benefit greatly from Simmons’ development.
