The Cincinnati Bengals are putting faith the returning safeties will be better than last year, but at the same time hedged their bet by asking Geno Stone to take a pay cut.
Cincinnati did not sign or draft anyone new at the position. So, what does that say about the group? There is potential the safeties could be good. They also might not be.
That likely will depend on Stone, and maybe what magic new defensive coordinator Al Golden can pull out of his hat. Stone struggled through the opening 12 games in his first season with the Bengals, despite coming off a seven-interception 2023 campaign with the Ravens, but he found his groove late in the year to record three of his four picks in the final five weeks.
Meanwhile, Jordan Battle eventually took back the strong safety job from Vonn Bell, who had been re-signed to stabilize a young defense but wasn’t up for the task. Battle showed a lot of promise when given opportunities as a rookie in 2023 and didn’t grab ahold of the reigns. Now he will need to prove he can handle the job full-time.
Let’s take a look at the past performances of the Bengals’ current safeties, and how they are expected to stack up in 2025 with help from some analysis and data from Pro Football Focus. This is the seventh in a series of pieces breaking down each position group for the Bengals. Next up: Cornerbacks.
DEFENSIVE BACKS ON THE ROSTER
Projected starters: Jordan Battle, Geno Stone
Reserves: Tycen Anderson, Daijahn Anthony
Others in the mix: P.J. Jules, Jaylen Key, Shaquan Loyal
BATTLE BY THE NUMBERS
2024 stats: 58 tackles, one quarterback hit, three passes defended, one interception in 17 games (six starts)
PFF grades for 2024: Battle ranked tied for 136th of 171 safeties in defense grade (53.1), 138th in run defense grade (59.0), 133rd in pass rush grade (45.5) and 129th in coverage grade (53.0).
PFF ranking for 2025: N/A
STONE BY THE NUMBERS
2024 stats: 81 tackles, four interceptions, six passes defended, four quarterback hits in 17 games, all starts
PFF grades for 2024: Stone ranked tied for 136th of 171 safeties in defense grade (53.1), 35th in pass rush grade (63.4), 161st in run defense grade (45.5) and 127th in coverage grade (53.7).
PFF ranking for 2025: N/A
FURTHER ANALYSIS
The Bengals addressed the other two levels of the defense this offseason but did not do that with the secondary, and it was perhaps most surprising they didn’t at least draft a safety. It’s still possible they go out and get a veteran still waiting on the right fit, but there is a glaring hole if Plan A doesn’t work.
Behind Battle and Stone are two unproven players. Anderson, a fifth-round draft pick in 2022, missed most of his first two seasons because of injuries and showed he’s an excellent special teams contributor but hasn’t seen a single snap on defense yet. Anthony, a seventh-round pick in 2024, played 11 snaps on defense, all in the first seven weeks, and then was either inactive, did not play or was limited to special teams the rest of the year.
PFF called “an underwhelming defense” the Bengals’ biggest weakness, and the site’s analysts aren’t putting much stock the secondary will be better, ranking the unit (including both safeties and cornerbacks) 25th out of the 32 teams.
Baltimore, Kansas City and Denver took the top three spots, and it’s not surprising Cincinnati was well behind them. None of the Bengals’ safeties were among the top 32 in the individual player rankings at the position.
“The vaunted secondary that fueled an AFC championship run now feels like a distant memory, as the Bengals’ secondary looks completely different in 2025,” John Kosko wrote. “Despite last season’s struggles, Cincinnati neither drafted a defensive back nor made a significant offseason addition to the unit. It’s a risky approach, but there are still some solid pieces. Cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt and safety Geno Stone performed well in 2023 but regressed in 2024. The hope is that a change in defensive coordinator can spark a turnaround for this group in 2025.”
