When additions are made over the offseason, the prevailing feeling is always optimism. Teams — and fans — are hopeful that the moves will work out. But, that isn’t always the case. Sometimes, players don’t end up being quite as impactful as the teams that signed them would have hoped, for one reason or another.

Here’s a look at three new faces who didn’t live up to expectations for the Cincinnati Bengals in 2024.

Sheldon Rankins, Defensive tackle

The Bengals signed Sheldon Rankins to a two-year, $24.5 million deal in free agency last offseason, but his first season in Cincinnati was extremely underwhelming. Availability was the main issue for Rankins in 2024, as he missed more games than he played in. Rankins 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.

He was ultimately placed on the on the Reserve/Non-Football Illness list. For those keeping count, that’s 10 games missed compared to just seven games played. When Rankins, 30, was out on the field, he wasn’t particularly productive, as he recorded just 10 total tackles and one sack during the season.

Rankins still has a year remaining on his contract, but the Bengals would save cap space by releasing him over the offseason, and that seems like a likely outcome.

Geno Stone, Safety

Geno Stone didn’t end up being quite the difference-maker in the secondary that the Bengals were hoping he would be when they signed him to a two-year, $14 million deal last offseason. Through the first five weeks of the season, Stone was literally the worst-ranked safety in the entire NFL.

In fairness to Stone, he turned it on a bit down the stretch and started to play some better football. He was even the team’s highest-graded player from their Week 15 win over the Tennessee Titans and he had a pick in three straight games from Week 14 to 16. But, he was hyped by some as one of the better additions of the offseason prior to the start of the season, and he fell well short of those expectations.

Zack Moss, Running back

Zack Moss spent the second half of the season sidelined with a neck injury, so the grade for his first season in Cincinnati is incomplete. But, he was pretty underwhelming prior to the injury. He entered the season as the starter in the backfield, but he was eventually replaced by Chase Brown, who was clearly the better, more explosive back.

On 74 carries in 2024, Moss ran for 242 yards and two touchdowns. That’s an average of 3.3 yards per carry and 30.3 yards per game. Nothing to write home about. He also caught 23 passes for 187 yards and a touchdown.

Moss primarily served as a backup throughout his career before joining the Bengals, and that’s the role he’ll be in next season (unless he’s released), as Brown has clearly established himself as the starter in Cincinnati.