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Addition by subtraction. That’s a real thing in life, and in football. Sometimes teams are just better off parting ways with or walking away from a player, or two, or three. Sometimes the reasons are financial. Sometimes a pairing simply runs its course.

With the offseason officially upon us, it’s time for teams — like the Cincinnati Bengals — to start making moves in the name of improvement. With that said, here’s a look at three Bengals players who should no longer be on the roster at the start of the 2025 NFL season.

Vonn Bell, Safety

Vonn Bell is headed for free agency this offseason, and there’s no world where the Bengals should bring him back, again. Bell was a major disappointment in 2024 after the Bengals brought him back last offseason, and at 30 years old, he’s probably not going to get any better.

Bell was a weak link in Cincinnati’s secondary last season, and he was eventually replaced as a starter by Jordan Battle. It’s probably not a coincidence that the secondary looked better when Battle was out on the field. Bell probably should have been benched sooner, but Lou Anarumo was loyal to him as the pair had experienced some success previously. Anarumo’s gone now, though, and Bell should be too.

Alex Cappa, Guard

Cappa has one year remaining on his current contract, but the team can save $8 million against the cap by cutting him. Doing so would likely be wise, as Cappa frankly hasn’t been great throughout his three-year stint in Cincinnati. Here are some stats from NFL.com:

“Alex Cappa has been a mainstay on the Cincinnati offensive line for three straight years, starting all 50 regular-season games.That said, [Cappa] also allowed 15 sacks over that span, third-most by any guard in the league, and has a PFF pass-blocking grade of 55.2, which ranks 64th out of 79 guards with at least 600 snaps in that window.”

The Bengals need to upgrade the line in front of Joe Burrow, and cutting Cappa could be a step in the right direction.

Sheldon Rankins, Defensive tackle

There’s really no reason for Sheldon Rankins to be back with the Bengals next season. He does have one year remaining on his current contract, but parting ways with him over the offseason would save Cincinnati $9.5 million against the cap, while counting as just $2 million in dead money, per Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic.

Availability was the main issue for Rankins during his first season in Cincinnati. Overall, he missed more games than he played in. He was sidelined for three games earlier in the season with a hamstring injury, and then he missed the final seven games of the campaign with an illness. That’s 10 games missed compared to just seven games played.

Rankins wasn’t particularly productive when he was out on the field. either, as he recorded just 10 total tackles and one sack during the season. Given his lack of production and availability, parting ways with him over the offseason should be a no-brainer for the Bengals.