It was conventional wisdom this time last year that, given their Super Bowl aspirations, that offseason would be the most important in Bengals history. Alas, it was pretty much a debacle—from a so-so draft and mediocre free agency to the contract dramas surrounding Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, neither of which were actually resolved. Other than Joe Burrow’s successful recovery from wrist surgery, everything about Cincinnati’s process turned sour.

So now here we are, with last offseason paling in comparison to the seismic decisions now awaiting the Brown/Blackburn C-Suite and de facto GM Duke Tobin. In addition to the usual roster choices, free agency signings, and draft selections, we add the Chase and Higgins potential contract double-dip; what do to with star pass rusher Trey Hendrickson; a conceivable restructuring of Burrow’s contract; and the crucial hiring of a new defensive coordinator/position coaches and an offensive line coach, whose schemes and preferences will help determine how the 2025 roster is constructed.

As always, Cincinnati has plenty of cap space to work with, with more to come after dead weight is released (projected to be in the $90 million range), and a good amount of cash on hand to entice players into cap-friendly signing bonuses. On the negative side, this offseason’s available free agents aren’t mouthwatering; Higgins is far and away the best potential free agent. The late hot streak left the Bengals picking just 17th, likely outside of the range for elite prospects. And Cincinnati has only six total picks in the draft, having dealt their seventh-rounder for Kahlil Herbert at the trade deadline.

Will the Bengals, at long last, spend to the cap? Will they actually deliver more up-front cash in order to close large contracts without hurting the cap on the back end and get truly serious about winning during Burrow’s prime years? As we know, the just-completed season was, in those terms, an epic disaster; missing the playoffs when your quarterback and star players have MVP/All-Pro-level seasons is basically unprecedented in the modern age. It was hard to watch wild-card weekend’s craptastic blowouts and not feel the pangs of regret that Burrow didn’t have a chance to be out there firing.

To me, the original sin of the 2024 season was not signing Chase back in the summer, when it would have eliminated his inevitable new deal as a talking point, brought Uno fully on board and ready to go in Week 1 instead of “holding in,” and reduced his paychecks over the coming campaigns, all in one quick penstroke. Instead, the two sides fell out over the dreaded up-front cash bugaboo, bad vibes washed over the locker room, and his absence directly attributed to the early-season pratfall that helped cost the team a postseason berth.

So Priority A is getting that deal done already. This season showed Chase’s value with utmost clarity. Make him the NFL’s first $40 million wideout if need be—just sign him already.

That leads us, inevitably, to Higgins. The foregone conclusion that 2024 was his last in stripes is now bygone—the winds are at Cincinnati’s sails in that department, helped mightily by Tee’s dumping of agent David Mulugehta in favor of Chase’s agent, Rocky Arceneaux.

Higgins will be offered enormous money if he ever gets to the free agent market, but there are signals that he’d prefer to remain a Bengal and play with pals Joe and Ja’Marr, assuming the money is at least competitive. Can the Bengals afford to pay both receivers? Sure. Is it wise to do so? Given that the team’s identity (going back basically to their inception) has revolved around an excellent passing attack and that the nominal Higgins replacement, Jermaine Burton, flopped so miserably and that Burrow himself has come out so loudly in favor of keeping Tee, the answer is probably yes.

What would you rather have: Tee in Cincinnati even if he gets hurt or underperforms or the roster lags elsewhere, or Tee dominating in another uniform and the Bengals having to either draft a wideout highly or replace him with Meh? The argument can certainly be made that you pay Burrow big dollars to make the offense work regardless of who’s catching passes. But in this specific case, the 1-5-9 tumblers click everything into place so well. Losing Higgins for nothing or even a tag-and-trade would be a severe blow.

Another star looking to cash in is Hendrickson. If you thought he was underpaid going into this season, before which he bubbled forth a brief trade demand, now there is little question. After leading the NFL in sacks, Hendrickson, whose every pass rush against an offensive line feels like the beginning of Pearl Jam’s “Animal” (“1-2-3-4-5 against one, 5-5-5 against one…”), will undoubtedly be more vocal about getting paid like the top edge that he is. Cincinnati already added a year to his deal, so he’s signed through 2025, his age-31 season.

Counterintuitively, given his signal importance to the defense, a case can certainly be made for dealing Hendrickson. He is the lone asset who can actually bring back something of worth, although inevitably less than you might imagine or desire, and one sure way of increasing the number of 2025 draft picks. The fact that he isn’t an “OB” (original Bengal), meaning he wasn’t drafted and developed in Stripes, makes it more likely he can be dealt, unlike, say, Geno Atkins or Carlos Dunlap—the only two rushers with more sacks in franchise history than Trey and two players the Bengals held onto long past their sell-by date. And a trade would allow for more money to be spent on others.

But, of course, that would mean having to replace 17.5 sacks, 92 pressures, and 46 quick pressures (per NFL Next Gen Stats). Hendrickson had an astounding 32% of the team’s total pressures. Burrow’s You don’t want to make a living out of letting great players leave the building applies hugely to Hendrickson, far and away the franchise’s greatest free agent signing ever. They could certainly add 2026 to his deal with a sizable bump, with an option for 2027, and hopefully that would get the job done.

You’ve likely been eagerly anticipating the roster cuts Cincinnati will make this offseason. You know the obvious names: Sheldon Rankins, Alex Cappa, Germaine Pratt, and Sam Hubbard unless he wants to stay for minimal dough. Mike Hilton and B.J. Hill might get enticed by better money elsewhere. Geno Stone’s future depends mightily on the new DC hire—he was always flawed and parlayed playing alongside Kyle Hamilton (and a great game against the Bengals) into a free agent deal. But Stone is a much better safety than he showed in the first half of the year and can still be a valued D piece.

If you haven’t perused the available free agents on offer, you may be disappointed with the selection, which is more Steak ‘n Shake than Jeff Ruby’s. At guard, there is Trey Smith of K.C. and then a sizable fall-off. The edge rusher pool features a lot of aged guys and journeymen. Personally, I’d love Cincinnati to sign both Levi Onwuzurike and Osa Odighizuwa at D-tackle, just to make ace radio broadcaster Dan Hoard have to earn his dough. Neither is D.J. Reader, but one of them would be nice. Free agents in the secondary are a mixed platter of sizes and play styles. Overall, while you may desire dumping every defender except Hendrickson, it will be difficult to completely rebuild the unit in a single offseason.

This is why the DC hire will be so critical. The “right” hire is almost impossible to determine, but I’d hope at least that Taylor exits his comfort zone and seeks out someone who isn’t necessarily in lockstep with his vision. Someone, of course, who can develop the likes of Myles Murphy and Cam Taylor-Britt to the fullest. We’ve discussed many times here that Lou Anarumo’s scheme worked well only when he had the exact veteran personnel to achieve its success. The new hire—Matt Eberflus would be good, mainly because I like to say his name—has to find a better balance between letting the players play freely and without thinking while ensuring they don’t get caught out of position.

As for the draft, it’s a bit early to zero in on potential selections—my daily simulations end up with guys who certainly won’t be available for Cincinnati come April. The line of scrimmage will be again be the focus, on both sides. The team simply has to get more pass rush and more stout against the run and has to acquire better guards. This draft features a lot of edge rushers and a decent amount of D-tackles, and on offense there are a ton of tackles, many of whom probably are better served as NFL guards—so that’s promising. It’s also an excellent running back draft, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Cincinnati took one in the mid-rounds. I definitely won’t be surprised if they trade back at least once in order to amass more picks.

We haven’t even touched on lesser questions such as Mike Gesicki’s future, who will back up running back Chase Brown, can the likes of Dax Hill and D.J. Turner recover from injuries and step up in the secondary, is Burton salvageable, etc., etc., etc. Not to mention big picture questions like How can the team avoid the annual slow starts? and Is Zac Taylor worth keeping? This is what happens when there are so many holes and the season was so agonizing.

Whatever unfurls, the offseason promises to be interesting. That descriptor is often a curse, but as football fans we crave action and offseason talking points. There will be no shortage of either in BengalLand.

I’ll be back in these digital pages to go over what transpires at certain points throughout the spring and summer. Otherwise, Who Dey and take care!