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Free Agency Update: Bengals Sign Minter, and More

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The Cincinnati Bengals made a big free agency move yesterday with the signing of LB Kevin Minter from Arizona.

Minter signed a 1-year deal worth $4.5 million. His arrival to the Bengals will take some of the sting out of losing Karlos Dansby to the Cardinals on his own 1-year deal and should help upgrade the LB position.

The 26-year-old Minter was taken in the 2nd round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He has played in Arizona for the past four years and started every game over the past two seasons. He played over 93% of the team’s defensive snaps in 2016, so he’s durable. During the past two seasons he has logged 175 tackles and four sacks (a career-high 3.5 last season).

Other Bengal free agency news last week

  • The Cincinnati Bengals inked offensive tackle Andre Smith to a 1-year contract on Tuesday. Does the name sound familiar? It should. Smith was drafted by the Bengals out of Alabama in the first round in 2009 and will be heading into his 9th season. He spent last year with the Minnesota Vikings but only started four games before injuring a tricep. Soon after that, he was placed on injured reserve and didn’t play for the rest of the season.
  • Guard/center TJ Johnson agreed to a 2-year deal on Friday. Johnson is a third-year man out of South Carolina and was chosen in the 7th round of the 2015 draft.
  • Finally, two players who are no longer on the Bengals’ roster include wide receiver James Wright (released) and running back Rex Burkhead (signed with the New England Patriots). Since losing Burkhead leaves the team thin at that position look for them to take advantage of a talent-rich draft that includes names like Florida State’s Dalvin Cook, LSU’s Leonard Fournette, Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey, and Tennessee’s Alvin Kamara.

Bengals Free Agency News – Dre In, Whit and Zeit Out

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Well – good news and bad news in free agency so far.

Bad news first – the Cincinnati Bengals lost their two best offensive lineman to other teams on Thursday. Andrew Whitworth inked a 3-year, $36 million deal with the LA Rams.

Kevin Zeitler went even bigger (with a smaller team). KZ will spend the next 5 years with the Cleveland Browns, and get 60 million bucks for it. It’s kinda sad that the Bengals didn’t even make an offer for him. But it’s also not surprising – the Cincy brass traditionally doesn’t place a lot of value on offensive guards.

Given this departure of talent, it’s a good thing that quarterback Andy Dalton is under contract. Otherwise, he might blow town now that the two best players are gone from a line that allowed 41 sacks last season.

So, will the Bengals try to snag some bodies from the free agency field to replace the Whitworth-Zeitler protection agency? Or will they look to the draft to get some big uglies? Some names to remember include Minnesota Vikings (and former Bengal) OT Andre Smith, LSU  C/G Ethan Pocic, and Western Kentucky’s OT/G Forrest Lamp. Keep an eye out for them.

Now, The Good News

Dre Kirkpatrick signed a 5-year, $52.5 million contract Thursday. His presence is almost as big a gain to the secondary as Zeitler and Whitworth are a loss to the O-line. He provides stability to the defensive backfield and was a big reason why the Cincinnati Bengals tied for fourth in the NFL last year with 17 interceptions. Many wonder how or if this move will impact the future of CB Adam Jones, who has had off-the-field trouble.


Overall, this didn’t feel like a good day for Cincinnati. Losing Whitworth and Zeitel hurts no matter who the team signs to replace them. Getting Kirkpatrick is good and there are still plenty of quality players out there to be signed or drafted. But it still feels like a step back. And for a team that entered 2016 with playoff expectations and finished 6-9-1, any step back can be bad. Real bad.

Will the Bengals have back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since 2007-08? Leave a comment and tell us what you think.

Bengals Bring Back Brandon LaFell

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The Cincinnati Bengals resigned wide receiver Brandon LaFell on Wednesday to a 2-year, $10 million deal. This is the first free agency move for the team. It keeps the 7-year veteran in Cincy, where he has carved out a niche as a complement to star wideout AJ Green.

LaFell caught 64 passes last year for 862 yards and 6 touchdowns despite a preseason thumb injury. Before coming to Cincinnati in 2016 on a 1-year deal, the 3rd-round pick out of LSU spent the previous two years with New England after four with Carolina. His best statistical season came in 2014, when he appeared in 16 games for the Patriots. That year, he caught 74 passes for 953 yards and 7 TDs.

He came on strong in the final three games last year. During that stretch, he caught 20 passes for 288 yards and a touchdown. It was too little too late, though, as the Bengals were already out of the playoff picture by then.

TJ Johnson Gets One-Year Tender Offer

On Tuesday Cincinnati also tendered offensive lineman TJ Johnson for one year for $1,797,000. Johnson, a restricted free agent, can negotiate with other teams, however, the Bengals can match any competing offer that Johnson signs. The team could also try to work out a longer-term deal with Johnson as well.

Johnson was drafted in 2013 out of South Carolina and appeared in all 16 games last year.


 

Bengals Biggest Needs – Pre-Free Agency

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The free agency season is upon us.

And free agency is a funny thing. Maybe your team gets lucky and signs the right players. The best players. The ones who will get your fans high-fiving about how these new guys are the missing pieces who are needed to bring a championship. And yet, you can lose players just as easily as get them. When the dust settles, you may have filled three holes on the team and are staring at three new ones that weren’t a problem before. Welcome to the NFL.

So in this pre-free agency period, what are the places where the Cincinnati Bengals could use some help?

Cincinnati Bengals 3 Biggest Team Needs – Pre-Free Agency

1) Wide Receiver – The Bengals certainly have a star wideout in AJ Green. Beyond him, though, they need playmakers and depth. Tight end Tyler Eifert is a passing-game weapon, but he’s injury prone. Receiver Tyler Boyd is great in the slot but lacks much experience as a second-year man. A speedy deep threat would come in handy against defenses who want to double-team Green. FA names to keep an eye on include Terrelle Pryor, DeSean Jackson, and Kenny Stills (who averaged an eye-popping 17.3 yards per catch and 9 TDs in 2016).

2) Pass Rusher – We’ve got Carlos Dunlap. We have Geno Atkins. We have ………. Dunlap and Atkins. They combined for 17 sacks last year. Outside of those two, there are no ends on Cincy’s D-line who consistently get to the QB. The market has lots of available players this year, but no can’t-miss guys. Green Bay’s Nick Perry and Datone Jones could help out (both provide versatility as DEs who also play OLB).

3) Offensive Line – This one was a toss-up to make this list, along with running back. We chose OL because Cedric Ogbuehi and Jake Fisher haven’t panned out yet, and there’s no guarantee that the Cincinnati Bengals will hold onto free agents Andrew Whitworth and Kevin Zeitler. Pass protection will be a major concern in 2017 because you can’t lose Andy Dalton, and you definitely can’t lose Andy Dalton when there’s talk going around about trading No. 2 quarterback AJ McCarron.