Cincinnati Bengals personnel director Duke Tobin and head coach Zack Taylor and their respective staff will be busy making tough roster decisions over the course of the next few weeks. The new league year begins on 16 March and the free agent negotiation process begins on 14 March.
The teams will be allowed to interact with free agents in the market during the two days preceding March 16. Given the needs of the Bengals and their salary cap situation, expect Cincinnati to quickly come into the mix. Both Tobin and Taylor reiterated in NFL scouting that the priority is to re-sign some of the players who are up for fresh deals that contributed to the Bengals' Super Bowl 56 run.
Keep an eye out for tight end CJ Uzoma and defensive tackles Larry Ogunjobi and BJ Hill as the Bengals look to re-sign.
As far as Bengals can add from the outside, there's a lot to consider. Bengal's greatest positional need is to have enough in every situation along the offensive line. Left tackle Jonah Williams is the only player set to return as a starter in the upcoming season. Left guard, centre, right guard and right tackle are all areas currently surrounded by question marks.
Considering how late the Bengals have been drafting this year - pick No. 31 - it's unlikely they'll land a top-5 offensive lineman in this year's draft, so they have to put this position group in free agency. will have to be addressed. Most teams always want to add to their offensive line and by the time you're making selections at the end of the first round, most are off the board. That's the only downside of a team scoring a deep Super Bowl run.
Per OverTheCap.com, Bengal currently has $34 million in cap space. If the team decides to cut cornerback Trai Vance - which is likely - they will add $10.9 million to their total. Another possibility to create more cap space for the Bengals is cut center Trey Hopkins, a $6 million savings.
Bengals cannot and will not spend every available dollar in one location. But the main decision Cincinnati's front office will have to make is what position they feel along the offensive line is their top priority. Then it comes down to what they want to spend their money on and how they fill out the rest of the group.
Franchise quarterback Joe Burrow was sacked 70 times in the 2021 season - regular season and postseason included. By the second half of Super Bowl 56's loss to the Los Angeles Rams, the Bengals were able to cross their biggest Achilles heel for much of the season. Burrow was dismissed seven times in the game and his inability to block the Rams' defensive front proved to be the difference in the game.
Below is the list of players Bengal can target in the coming weeks as they try to improve their offensive line.
Catch
Morgan Moses
2021 Team: New York Jets
Age: 31
2021 cap hit: $4.3 million
Moses started right off 16 of 17 games for the New York Jets in 2021. Before joining the Jets, Moses played for six years for the Washington Commanders, where he started every game from 2015-2020.
According to Pro Football Focus, in 1,022 offensive snaps, Moses allowed 49 quarterback pressure, 10 hits and four sacks.
Germaine Effedi
2021 Team: Chicago Bears
Age: 27
2021 cap hit: $750,000
After starting every game in his career for five seasons, Effedi suffered a knee injury in October of the 2021 season and was placed on injured reserve and forced to miss eight games. In the nine matches he played for Chicago last year, Efedi was given a pass-blocking grade of 70.7 by Pro Football Focus. Efedi, a former first-round pick drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in 2016, has position flexibility that could be attractive to the Bengals. He has spent time in the NFL playing the right guard and the right tackle. In his first season with the Bears, Efedi started all 16 games in 2020 on right guard.
Riley reef
2021 Team: Cincinnati Bengals
Age: 33
2021 Average Salary: $7.5 million
If Bengals choose to allocate their resources to the Center or the Guard, then re-signing Riley Reef could be a viable option. In one season with the Bengals, Reif started 12 games and offensive coordinator Brian Callahan said he was pleased with what he saw from the veteran before the season ended with the injury. The gamble with the reef is its age and durability. However, he has experience and familiarity with Cincinnati's offensive plan. Depending on how things turn out, returning to Reef Bengals could certainly be an option. The pro football focus allowed Reef 21 presses, four sacks, and three quarterback hits.
Protector
Brandon Sheref
2021 Team: Washington Commanders
Age: 30
2021 cap hit: $18 million
Scherff will be one of the most expensive, guards on the market. 5 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, the Sheriff's resume speaks for itself. He has started 89 games in the NFL and is one of the best right guards in the league. Scherff suffered a knee injury last year and was limited to 11 games. In those games, Scherff allowed only one hit and zero sacks. He has played a total of 697 snaps and will immediately upgrade the Bengals' internal offensive line.
Conor Williams
2021 Team: Dallas Cowboys
Age: 24
2021 cap hit: $2.9 million
Williams is easily the biggest risk but this free agent class of offensive linemen has high reward potential. His age and experience make him interesting but his performance in the 2021 season was worrying. Williams was benched by the Cowboys at one point last year, but then returned to the starting lineup by the end of the season. They fought against the San Francisco 49ers in the playoffs. Williams started 51 of 57 games in his youth career as a left guard. Given the right coaching and personal development, the Bengals could have a good pair of young offensive linemen on the left if Jonah Williams stays on the left tackle and the team adds Conor Williams. His penalty was the biggest weakness for the former Texas second-round pick outs last season. Pro Football Focus chartered him in the 2021 season with 15 penalties and he will certainly need to clean up wherever he lands.
Center
Ryan jensen
2021 Team: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age: 30
2021 Cap Hits: $10 million
Jensen may be the best hub to hit the market in the past few years. After winning the Super Bowl in 2021 as a center blocking for Tom Brady, Jensen will be one of the most sought after players next week. Bengals need to be upgraded centrally as Trey Hopkins is advancing in age and his durability is a concern. Hopkins suffered an ACL injury in 2021, but he recovered in time to start the week for Bengal. At the end of the season, Hopkins was limited in his practice availability for the Bengals. If Cincinnati were to sign Jensen, it would give him a top-tier starter in a key position for the next few seasons. Jensen was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in 2016 and is familiar with AFC North. Since the 2017 season, Jensen has started every game of each season. He allowed just two sacks on Brady in 17 matches last year.
Bradley Bozeman
2021 Team: Baltimore Ravens
Age: 27
2021 cap hit: $2.2 million
Bozeman will be a familiar face in Cincinnati as he has spent the past four seasons in Baltimore facing the Bengals twice a year. He has played both center and left guard in the NFL, but if the Bengals sign him, it would be with the intent of him taking over at center. Bozeman started 16 games at center for the Ravens in 2021. Baltimore drafted Bozeman in the sixth round of the 2018 NFL Draft and is coming off his best professional campaign ever. He earned a career-high Pro Football Focus grade of 77.3 in 2021.