PFF Projects Contracts For Five Bengals Among Top 100 NFL Free Agents

Cincinnati has some financial balls to juggle this offseason.

Author:
Russ Heltman
Publish date:
Jan 16, 2024 12:19 PM EST

In this story:

CINCINNATI — Free Agency is a little less than two months away as Cincinnati faces plenty of big decisions surrounding key players on the roster. Pro Football Focus's Brad Spielberger broke down his top 100 available free agents and five players made the list starting with Tee Higgins (No. 4).

Higgins is the best wide receiver available on the open market and PFF projects him to get franchise tagged.

"Injuries have hampered almost the entire 2023 season for Higgins after his second consecutive 1,000-yard season in 2022 with a receiving grade above 75.0," Spielberger wrote. "A franchise tag already seemed likely heading into the season, and with little new data to impact the negotiation either way, that seems inevitable. The field-stretching, jump-ball receiver should have the chance to bounce back in 2024 along with the entire Bengals team following a disappointing season."

Next is DJ Reader at No. 19 with a three-year, $45.75 million contract projection ($15.25 million per year), $29.75 million total guaranteed.

"Only injuries have been able to slow Reader down in Cincinnati," Spielberger wrote. "Otherwise, he has been a dominant force on the interior of a talented defensive line that was able to control the line of scrimmage and win big games up front over the past few seasons. The eighth-year pro has been the anchor in the middle.

"Reader is as stout as they come and nearly impossible to displace by just one blocker. And while he’ll never fill up the stat sheet with sacks, he can push the pocket and free up teammates as well as any nose tackle.

Reader, unfortunately, suffered a torn quadriceps injury in Week 15 that knocked him out for the remainder of the season. We will await more details on the recovery process before changing his projection, but the injury could obviously impact his market."

Chidobe Awuzie checked in at No. 26 with a two-year, $23 million contract projection ($11.5 million per year), $13.75 million total guaranteed.

"Awuzie was one of a series of slam-dunk free-agent acquisitions for the Cincinnati Bengals over the past few years, providing the team with a bona fide No. 1 outside cornerback for just $7.25 million annually," Spielberger wrote. "Awuzie tore his ACL in 2022, and the Bengals have used four Day 2 picks on defensive backs over the past two draft classes, which signals he should be testing out free agency once again. He has returned to form nicely in 2023, though."

Next was Jonah Williams at No. 54 with a four-year, $64 million contract projection ($16 million per year), $40 million total guaranteed.

"Williams requested a trade this past offseason after the Bengals signed free agent tackle Orlando Brown Jr. to take over on the left side, but he eventually rescinded the request and got back to work mastering his craft at right tackle, where he hadn’t started since his undergraduate days in college at Alabama," Spielberger wrote. "The former first-round pick has always been an above-average pass protector and has stayed healthy throughout 2023. While Williams may not have the ceiling perceived coming out of college, a high-floor pass-blocker with a strong pedigree should do fairly well in unrestricted free agency with the league-wide scarcity of solid tackle play."

We close with Tyler Boyd at No. 74 with a two-year, $17.5 million contract projection ($8.75 million per year), $10.75 million total guaranteed.

"It will be fascinating to see if and how Cincinnati attempts to keep the elite trio of Ja’Marr Chase, fellow free agent Tee Higgins, and Tyler Boyd together in 2024 and beyond, but Boyd could be the odd man out looking for a third contract after playing out the term of his four-year extension signed in 2020.

"Boyd is a big slot receiver with solid blocking chops in the run game. He rarely ever drops a target and does well to sit down in soft spots of zones on key passing downs. However, Boyd is on pace for career lows across the board in 2023 and with so many big financial decisions facing Cincinnati, the Bengals may not be willing to offer him as much as other teams looking to upgrade their unit over the middle."

It'll be interesting to see if Cincinnati retains just one or multiple of these players as they get set to enter a bit of a new era for this roster.

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