Dave Lapham Weighs in on Carl Lawson and William Jackson III's Future in Cincinnati
CINCINNATI — Defensive end Carl Lawson and cornerback William Jackson III both played well for the Bengals this season.
They were two bright spots on a defense that struggled for most of the year.
Lawson and Jackson's success came at the perfect time. Both players were in the final year of their rookie contracts and are set to become free agents in March.
The Bengals would be wise to try to re-sign both players. They can also use the franchise tag on one of them, which would prevent that player from hitting the free agent market.
Radio analyst Dave Lapham was asked which guy he would sign if they could only sign one of the two defensive stars on the latest Bengals Booth Podcast.
"I probably would make sure that I kept Lawson because you don't have any pass rush. He's the only guy that gave you consistent pass rush," Lapham said. "You paid all this money for Trae Waynes—never got a snap out of him. I'm saying, 'if I lose Carl Lawson, what do I have up front? If I lose Will (Jackson), at least I have Trae Waynes. And I thought he was one of the best in the league. I gave him a ton of money. At least I have somebody else there. Who's my guy if I don't sign Carl Lawson?"
The Bengals have the cap space to sign both Lawson and Jackson. If they do keep both, then there's no reason why this defense shouldn't be better next season.
Waynes will be on the field and so will defensive tackle D.J. Reader. Sam Hubbard will be fully recovered from the elbow injury that limited him for most of the 2020 season.
Their young linebackers will hopefully take a step forward and star safety Jessie Bates could get even better in his fourth year in the league.
Re-signing both Lawson and Jackson should be a priority for the Bengals this offseason.
If they could only keep one, then retaining Lawson makes sense considering he was their only consistent pass rusher and he showed the ability to play all three downs.
Listen to Lapham's entire conversation with Dan Hoard below.
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