Cincinnati Bengals Agree To Deal With Star Free Agent Safety

CINCINNATI — The Bengals made their first splash in free agency on Monday by agreeing to a deal with former Chiefs safety and Cincinnati Bearcat Bryan Cook.

NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported the three-year deal.

"The Bengals are signing former Chiefs safety Bryan Cook to a three-year, $40.25 million deal, sources tell The Insiders," Pelissero posted on X. "It pays Cook $18M in Year 1."

Cook figures to immediately slot into a starting role with the Bengals after playing great football in Kansas City over the past four years. The new deal makes him the NFL's 13th-highest-paid safety by average annual value.

Homecoming

Dec 21, 2025; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Kansas City Chiefs safety Bryan Cook (6) warms up before a game against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

He is coming off a career-high 83.5 Pro Football Focus grade this past season on 857 snaps. Cook notched 50 tackles and six pass breakups across the full campaign. He's a Cincinnati native and returns home to help turn around the Bengals' defense.

Cook was a featured part of the 2021 Cincinnati Bearcats Football College Football Playoff run. Now he'll try to win more in his hometown. Cook and Jordan Battle both played a majority of their snaps at free safety last season. Cincinnati dug into a good chunk of its cap space to try and solve this position once and for all after flailing with the role since Jessie Bates III exited in 2023.

“We’re looking for versatility,” Bengals defensive coordinator Al Golden said about the safety position at the 2026 NFL Combine. “I love versatility in our system, in our program, and especially if you can do it without substitution. That’s what makes you dangerous. We’ll see where we go here in terms of identifying those things, but you have complete faith in Zac and Duke and what we’re going to acquire here in the next month.”

He has high hopes for Battle in his fourth season.

“I’m excited about Jordan,” Golden said. “What he meant to us last year on that journey, his consistency, his positivity, his emergence as a leader, and then his production at the end of the day. His tackling, his space tackling improved, his ball disruption improved, and obviously, his aforementioned leadership."

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