Cap Confidential: Why the Bengals Need to Re-Sign William Jackson III and Carl Lawson

The Bengals must keep Jackson and Lawson

Author:
Russ Heltman
Updated:
Mar 9, 2021 9:46 AM EST
Original:
Mar 9, 2021

Comfort and home cooking tend to go hand in hand. There's something about knowing where the food is coming from and who made it that gives people a sense of safety.

The Cincinnati Bengals have embraced that same mantra for team building. The franchise is a perennial leader in the amount of in-house talent they keep on their team.

Cincinnati and Seattle led the NFL with 30 homegrown players on their respective rosters in 2020. The Bengals value their own, making the looming decisions surrounding Carl Lawson and William Jackson III so fascinating.

“They're guys that we developed, we found, we groomed, they've blossomed," Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin said Monday. "I think there's a lot of interest around them, and we'll certainly compete and try to get them back."

Tobin went on to emphasize the Bengals mantra of retaining these types of players. In terms of their defensive philosophy for free agency, everything has to focus on that statement. Cincinnati cannot afford to lose Jackson or Lawson from a defense that still lacks talent.

The 2006 draft class helps explain why the Bengals need to bring back their two stars.

Marvin Lewis' fourth draft in Cincinnati was a home run at the top. Cincinnati took Johnathan Joseph and Andrew Whitworth in the first and second-rounds, respectively. Both were great players for the Bengals, but the team let them leave in free agency.

Joseph faced an eerily similar free agency assessment as Jackson. He was a solid No. 1 corner with ups and downs across his five seasons in Cincinnati. Even with ample cap room to sign him in 2011, the Bengals felt he was too expensive and he signed a five-year, $48.75 million contract with Houston.

Joseph blossomed with the Texans, posting the two most valuable seasons of his career in 2011 and 2012. He made the Pro Bowl both years while compiling six interceptions and 25 passes defended over that span. His play never fell off across his five-year deal. Meanwhile, the Bengals patched up the hole by signing veterans Nate Clements and Terrence Newman in the following seasons. Those signings didn't stop them from using a ton of resources on cornerback before landing Jackson.

It feels a bit like groundhog day in 2021. If Jackson walks, they will be hard-pressed to use a high-value draft pick on his replacement or hope they can strike veteran gold again like last decade.

When Whitworth left Cincinnati for Los Angeles in 2017, it left a gaping hole that still hasn't been fixed. He's a no-brainer candidate for a potential Bengals Ring of Honor, despite playing the past four years with the Rams. Pro Football Reference has his approximate value (98) slotted 11th all-time in Bengals' history. Yet, at 36 years old, the front office felt he was at the end of the line. They reportedly offered him a one-year deal with incentives, and the Rams blew it out of the water with a three-year deal worth up to $36 million. He ranked among the league's top-8 offensive tackles during every year of the contract according to Sports Info Solutions,

Cedric Ogbuehi, Cordy Glenn, an Andre Smith re-run, plus Jonah Williams make up the revolving door at left tackle since they lost their best blindside protector since Anthony Muñoz. Not to mention the second-round pick they spent on Jake Fisher in 2015.

The lesson is clear: paying the known commodities on your roster goes a long way in team building, especially if the contracts aren't going to blow away the market.

Cincinnati will have at least $42 million in cap space this offseason, which is projected to be the sixth most in the NFL.

Jackson has been pegged by many as the top cornerback on the market, and the Bengals should use the non-exclusive franchise tag on him if they can't work out a long-term deal. An unprecedented but necessary move as Cincinnati has never placed the franchise tag on a cornerback.

Context clues make this the ideal tag target over Lawson for a couple of reasons. Jackson gets a chance to prove himself on a high-dollar deal before the cap jumps exponentially in 2022. The Bengals have insurance in case Trae Waynes doesn't live up to his eighth-ranked cornerback salary, ultimately able to cut him and save $11 million in 2022. Finally, there are questions about whether Lou Anarumo has fully tapped Jackson's man-coverage abilities.

The Bengals haven't been afraid to let coordinators go abruptly over the past five years (Ken Zampese and Teryl Austin). Anarumo is the leading candidate to be next if things go south at the start of the 2021 season. Letting Jackson walk at a palatable price would be picking Anarumo's scheme over Jackson's talent.

On the Lawson side of the equation, tagging him should be the Bengals' last resort. He is just outside the skill level to warrant top-tier edge money, with Spotrac projecting him to sign a four-year deal worth $35.5 million. Pro Football Focus projects the Auburn product to sign a four-years, $55 million contract. Either way, the Bengals edge rusher wouldn't be among the ten highest-paid defensive ends.

Signing both players could make it more challenging to sign a first-tier free agent offensive lineman. Many fans have zoned in on Joe Thuney as "the guy," and that's understandable. He grew up close to Cincinnati and has been solid with New England, but he's one of many options that should hit the market this offseason.

Thuney has never been elite, failing to crack an overall PFF grade above 80 in any of his five NFL seasons. His play also dipped a bit in 2020 after legendary offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia retired from the Patriots. Versatile linemen are being released left and right, many of whom are closer fits with the Bengals' historical spending at guard.

The front office has the flexibility to pick and choose from the cap casualties without putting all their eggs into one player's basket. Cincinnati shouldn't start valuing top-level guards in free agency at the expense of Lawson or Jackson.

The Bengals love home cooking, and they are one of the few franchises in the COVID-era with the flexibility to retain the most integral parts of their defensive recipe and still protect Joe Burrow.

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