Geno Stone will remain with the Bengals for 2025, but he will do so at a reduced rate. The veteran safety has agreed to a restructured pact, Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap reports. 
Stone was due to receive $6.48MM this year, but that figure has now dropped to $4.9MM. The Bengals have guaranteed $1.5MM of the compensation contained in the new agreement, which ensures he will play in Cincinnati in 2025. Stone, 26, remains a pending 2026 free agent.
A seventh-round pick in 2020, Stone saw his usage rate increase with each passing season during his tenure with the Ravens. That included an 82% snap share in 2023, a year in which he posted seven interceptions and played a key role in Baltimore’s defensive success. That performance helped Stone’s market value, and he landed a two-year, $14MM pact from the Bengals last spring.
The Iowa product was a full-time starter during his debut Cincinnati campaign, but he was one of several defensive players on the team who underperformed. Stone managed four interceptions and a career-high 81 tackles, but his work in coverage left plenty to be desired. The safety spot was a talking point this offseason as a result, and in January Stone found himself among the Bengals’ potential cap casualties.
Instead, he and Jordan Battle remain in the fold. Cincinnati elected not to re-sign veteran Vonn Bell this spring, but the team did not select a safety during the draft. New defensive coordinator Al Golden has expressed confidence in Battle’s ability to take on a full-time starting gig starting in 2025, so a tandem with Stone is in store as things stand. The Bengals could of course still look to bring in a veteran, though; Justin Simmons, Julian Blackmon and Jordan Whitehead are among the experienced options still on the market.
The Bengals ranked 21st against the pass last season, and improvement in that department will be needed in 2025 for a return to the playoffs to be possible. Stone will have a role to play in that regard, and a bounce-back campaign would help his value ahead of free agency next spring.
Negotiations with STONE’S Agent on the restructure were ROCKY.
Slowly but surely getting the cash together for Trey to get his payday.