Bengals' Actions Show They Plan to Make Another Push in Free Agency
CINCINNATI — The Bengals aren't finished.
Even after swapping out Carl Lawson for Trey Hendrickson, replacing William Jackson III with Mike Hilton and Chidobe Awuzie and signing two starting tackles—one on offense and one on defense—the Bengals plan on adding more players to their roster over the next few days.
How can we be so sure? Well, they gave us a major hint with the way they structured Riley Reiff's contract.
Cincinnati included a void year in his deal, which allowed them to lower his cap hit in 2021. They only signed him to a one-year contract. Instead of his full $7.5 million salary counting against the cap, they added a void year, which saves $2.75 million in space in 2021 and moves it to next season.
This doesn't save the Bengals any actual cash. They're spending the same amount of money. It does give them more cap flexibility this offseason.
Cincinnati reportedly made a run at former Saints defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins over the weekend, but came up short. He agreed to terms with the Jets.
The Bengals are in the market for help in the trenches on both sides of the ball. Preserving that extra cap space could help them address their biggest remaining needs in free agency.
Giving this coaching staff proven players to work with is crucial with Zac Taylor entering his third season.
Adding more pieces in free agency would also give them plenty of flexibility in next month's NFL Draft.
The Bengals have made some big moves over the past week, but they aren't finished yet.
For more on void years, watch Jake Liscow's breakdown below.
For the latest free agency news, bookmark AllBengals and check out some of our other articles below.
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