Ranking the Cincinnati Bengals' Worst Free Agent Signings of the Last Decade

CINCINNATI – The decision to not use the franchise tag on defensive end Trey Hendrickson officially closes the Cincinnati Bengals career of the best free agent signing in franchise history.

Just behind Hendrickson on that list are several acquisitions the team has made in the last five years.

DJ Reader. Vonn Bell. Mike Hilton. Ted Karras. Chidobe Awuzie. Orlando Brown Jr.

At the other end of spectrum, some of the worst free agent signings in Bengals history occurred further back.

Antonio Bryant is as clearcut of choice for the worst ever as Hendrickson is for the title of best.

Forget team history. Bryant was one of the worst free agent signings in NFL history, with the Bengals either missing or ignoring the wide receiver’s knee injury when they signed him to a four-year, $27 million contract in 2010.

Their return on investment?

One practice.

The 29-year-old said after his first practice in training camp that the muscles around his knee weren’t healed enough for him to go full speed, and he continued to set out through late August.

After the third preseason game, the Bengals cut Bryant, meaning they paid him $8.5 million to practice on time at half speed.

There also was Laveranues Coles, who got the same four-year, $27.5 million deal Bryant got one year prior in 2009.

Coles caught just 43 passes on 77 targets for 514 yards and five touchdowns, and the Bengals cut him after the season in order to sign Bryant.

But what about recent history?

Filtering down to just the last decade, let’s look at the Bengals’ five worst free agent signings.

First, a note.

If the team cuts T.J. Slaton to save $6.6 million against the cap this year, he will earn a spot on the list.

If not, it would be premature as he still has another season to justify the two-year, $14.1 million deal he signed last spring.

Nick Scott (2023)

The first of several missteps in the Bengals’ attempt to replace safety Jessie Bates after letting him walk away in free agency, Scott signed a fairly modest three-year, $12 million deal.

A seventh-round pick 2019, Scott didn’t become a starter until 2022, the year before signing with the Bengals.

In Scott’s lone season as a starter for the Rams, Pro Football Focus ranked him 61st of 68 qualifying safeties.

Scott started 10 games for the Bengals before getting benched for rookie Jordan Battle.

The Bengals released after the 2023 season.

Bengals Got Little ROI on Big Contract They Gave Sheldon Rankins

Sheldon Rankins (2024)

After letting Reader walk in free agency, the Bengals attempted to plug the massive hole by giving Rankins a two-year, $24.5 million contract, making it one of the largest free-agent deals in team history based on average annual salary.

Rankins’ appearance on this list is more a product of bad luck than just a bad signing by the team.

He missed three of the first 10 games with a hamstring injury and recorded just one sack and 18 tackles before catching viral meningitis and shingles simultaneously.

Far less problematic than bacterial meningitis, which often is fatal, viral meningitis typically clears up in 7-10 days. But the added complication from shingles left Rankins self-reporting symptoms the rest of the season, and he never played another snap.

The Bengals cut him in February 2025 and saved $9.5 million against the cap, which helped pay for Slaton’s deal.

The team ended up paying Rankins nearly $1 million per tackle in 2024, or $60,763 per snap.

Preston Brown (2019)

After getting a modest return on a one year, $4 million free-agent contract in 2018 before a knee injury limited Brown to just seven games, the Bengals gave the linebacker and Cincinnati native a three-year, $16.5 million deal in 2019.

Brown started the first eight games in 2019, but the coaching staff grew frustrated with his weight and lack of production and benched him with not much to lose on the way to an 0-11 start to Zac Taylor’s career.

A week after benching Brown, the Bengals cut him.

Irv Smith Jr. (2023)

This one was more about the decision itself rather than the dollars.

Despite having an obvious need at tight end, the Bengals ignored the hole for more than two weeks in free agency before finally settling for Smith of March 30.

To no one’s surprise outside of the organization, the bargain-bin signing – one year, $1.75 million – was a dud.

Smith dropped a third-down pass early in the season opener and never regained Burrow’s trust. He finished the season with 18 catches for 115 yards and a touchdown.

Trae Waynes (2020)

The Bengals dove deep into free agency in 2020 to build a supporting cast around Joe Burrow, and that included giving Waynes a three-year, $42 million deal.

But the cornerback suffered a season-ending pectoral injury while bench pressing before he ever took the field in training camp.

Then in 2021, he missed the first three games with a hamstring injury. Once he finally got on the field, he played so poorly he was a healthy scratch in Weeks 6-14.

The team cut him at the end of the season and he never played another down in the NFL.

The Bengals ended up paying Waynes $30.8 million for four starts, 12 tackles one pass defended and no interceptions.