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Cincinnati Bengals News & Rumors

Bengals To Meet With Austin Reiter

July 23rd, 2021 at 1:39pm CST by Zachary Links

The Bengals will meet with Austin Reiter on Monday (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero). Reiter, who started in back-to-back Super Bowls for the Chiefs, could help to improve the offensive line that did little to protect Joe Burrow in 2020.

The Chiefs tried to keep Reiter in the spring, but their offer wasn’t to his liking. When things stalled, they pivoted to former Rams center Austin Blythe.

Reiter, 30 in November, started 12 games in 2020 and played every single snap in the Super Bowl. The year prior, he saw time in all 16 games. A seventh-round pick of Washington back in 2015, he quickly ended up on the Browns. He only had one career start under his belt when he landed in Kansas City via a waiver claim in 2018. Now, he’s a seasoned vet with 33 starts to his credit.

The Bengals passed up Penei Sewell at No. 5 overall, choosing to fortify their O-Line later on in the draft instead. Now, armed with a new OL coach in Frank Pollack, they’re hoping right tackle Riley Reiff can be a big difference-maker. Reiter, meanwhile, could shore up the interior.

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/22/21

July 22nd, 2021 at 2:50pm CST by Zachary Links

We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:

Baltimore Ravens

Cincinnati Bengals

Jacksonville Jaguars

New York Giants

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Poll: Which Rookie Wide Receiver Will Finish With Most Receiving Yards?

July 18th, 2021 at 6:52pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

This past week we asked you which rookie running back would finish with the most yards in 2021, and now we’re turning our attention to the wide receivers. This year’s wideout class was a great one, with three going in the top ten picks.

Two more then went later in the first round, and then five were off the board in the second. The crop included reigning Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith, and LSU star Ja’Marr Chase who was reunited in Cincinnati with college teammate Joe Burrow.

Chase became the first receiver off the board when the Bengals nabbed him with the fifth overall pick. He should already have great chemistry with Burrow, so he’s got that working in his favor. Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd are still there, but the team moving on from A.J. Green this offseason means Chase should see plenty of opportunity right away. Will his rapport with Burrow and a potentially improved Cincy O-line be enough for him to seize the rookie receiving title?

The following pick, the Dolphins took Jaylen Waddle from Alabama at number six. Waddle is also reconnecting with an old college quarterback as he’ll re-team with Tua Tagovailoa in Miami. His blazing fast speed gives him plenty of upside, although working against him is the fact that he missed a good chunk of the 2020 season due to injury. Will Fuller will have to sit out the first game of the 2021 season with a suspension, but DeVante Parker and Mike Gesicki will also be competing for targets.

Smith *also* is getting paired back up with a familiar face under center. The Heisman winner played with Eagles second-year quarterback Jalen Hurts at Alabama. Despite winning the award for best college football player in the country, Smith was the third wideout taken. Will he use that as added motivation and come out with a chip on his shoulder? He certainly shouldn’t struggle for playing time with Philly’s receiving depth chart being thin as ever. Jalen Reagor, Travis Fulgham, and Greg Ward Jr. are all he has to compete with.

The other two first-rounders were Kadarius Toney from Florida to the Giants at 20 and Rashod Bateman from Minnesota to the Ravens at 27. Toney surprised New York by skipping OTAs and apparently might begin the year in a gadget role as he’s buried behind Sterling Shepard, Kenny Golladay, Darius Slayton, and Evan Engram in the pecking order, so he’s got his work cut out for him. Bateman has a path to a breakout with Baltimore in desperate need of receiving help, but the Ravens’ passing game is going to be a wild card.

Elijah Moore was the next big name, with the Ole Miss product going to the Jets at 34. He’s also got upside, but has a few guys ahead of him and will have a rookie quarterback throwing to him. Rondale Moore (Purdue) to the Cardinals at 49, D’Wayne Eskridge (Western Michigan) to the Seahawks at 56, Tutu Atwell (Louisville) to the Rams at 57, and Terrace Marshall Jr. (LSU) to the Panthers at 59 round out the rest of the round two receivers.

So, what do you think? Which receiver will rack up the most yards in 2021? Who are the later-round candidates or UDFAs who can join these players as early contributors? Vote in PFR’s latest poll and weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section.

Which rookie wide receiver will have the most yards in 2021?
Ja'Marr Chase 36.57% (1,405 votes)
DeVonta Smith 21.50% (826 votes)
Jaylen Waddle 12.68% (487 votes)
Other 9.94% (382 votes)
Elijah Moore 7.81% (300 votes)
Rashod Bateman 6.98% (268 votes)
Kadarius Toney 4.53% (174 votes)
Total Votes: 3,842

Poll: Who Will Be First Head Coach To Lose Their Job?

July 15th, 2021 at 7:10pm CST by Ben Levine

We know, we know…it’s probably a bit early to speculate about the job security of NFL head coaches. However, let’s not forget Bum Phillips‘ famous (supposed) quote: “There’s two kinds of coaches, them that’s fired and them that’s gonna be fired.”

[RELATED: The Longest-Tenured Head Coaches In The NFL]

Even with the start of the NFL season more than a month away, a handful of head coaches already find themselves on the hot seat. Nowadays, it isn’t all that hard to determine which head coaches are at risk of losing their jobs. You can pretty much remove the 12 first- and second-year coaches, and you can definitely remove the successful, long-term coaches (the likes of Bill Belichick, Sean Payton, etc.).

That leaves about 15 coaches with at least two years of tenure but fewer than eight years of tenure (yes, we chose eight to shoehorn Andy Reid into the “definitively safe” section but not the likes of Mike Zimmer). Have those coaches had successful teams? You can remove them from the list. Have those coaches continually shown improvement? You can probably remove them from the list, too. Have those coaches’ teams disappointed or underwhelmed, especially recently? Ding ding ding…those are the coaches on the hot seat.

As we all know, those on the hot seat either redeem themselves and save their jobs or…ultimately get canned. So, that brings us to today’s question: which head coach will be fired first? We used Bovada’s top-three options below, but we’d like to hear your thoughts in the comments.

Matt Nagy, Bears

Following a 12-4 campaign to begin his coaching career, Nagy found his seat getting a bit warm following a disappointing 8-8 campaign in 2019. The former Chiefs offensive coordinator didn’t do a whole lot to inspire confidence in 2020. The team finished 8-8 for a second-straight season, and the former QB whisperer found his passing offense ranking in the bottom-half of the NFL in most categories.

The Bears finally bailed on Mitchell Trubisky this past offseason, and they added a pair of QBs to replace him: veteran Andy Dalton and first-round pick Justin Fields. With a solid defense that’s in win-now mode, Nagy will have to get something out of one of these signal-callers if he hopes to retain his job. Considering Dalton’s recent play and Fields’ inexperience, things are looking bleak.

Zac Taylor, Bengals

It’s easy to put an asterisk on the Bengals’ 2020 campaign following the season-ending injury to Joe Burrow, but there’s no denying that Taylor’s staff has now collected an ugly 6-25-1 record through two seasons. There’s really nowhere to go but up for the head coach, but even if the Bengals improve their record in 2021, the team would still have to pass the smell test. Specifically, we should expect the offensive guru to guide Burrow and the rest of the offense to at least an above-average performance, and it’d be encouraging if the defense was able to show some progress after finishing as one of the worst units in the league in 2020.

As we saw with Marvin Lewis, the Bengals organization values continuity. It’s hard to envision the team not giving Taylor at least another full season, but if the team is unable to show any improvement over 2020, then the 38-year-old could find himself without a job.

Vic Fangio, Broncos

There are a number of things working against Fangio and his future in Denver. For starters, he hasn’t done a whole lot during his two seasons at the helm, leading the team to a 12-20 record. Making it worse, the team took a clear step back in 2020, and with a questionable roster on paper, it’s hard to envision the Broncos getting a whole lot better in 2021.

Next, GM George Paton was only recently hired, so he surely won’t be feeling pressure throughout the 2021 season. However, a disappointing campaign could change things. In that hypothetical, you can bet the executive would be looking to right the ship immediately, and that would probably start with the head coach.

The final factor is the uncertain status of Broncos ownership. If the team is ultimately sold, the new owners would presumably be looking to clean house, at least from an on-field perspective. That means Fangio would surely be handed his walking papers, even if the team did show some progress in 2021.

Poll: Who Will Be First Head Coach To Lose Their Job?
Matt Nagy, Bears 34.22% (1,054 votes)
Vic Fangio, Broncos 34.19% (1,053 votes)
Other 18.38% (566 votes)
Zac Taylor, Bengals 13.21% (407 votes)
Total Votes: 3,080

For reference, the next four head coaches listed by Bovada are Jon Gruden (Raiders), Mike Zimmer (Vikings), Matt LaFleur (Packers), and Mike McCarthy (Cowboys). Let us know what you think in the comments below!

2021 Cap Space For All 32 NFL Teams

July 12th, 2021 at 12:27pm CST by Zachary Links

There are still plenty of quality free agents left on the board as we look ahead to training camp. Cornerback Steven Nelson, tackle Russell Okung, and longtime Legion of Boom leader Richard Sherman headline the list, along with accomplished edge rushers like Justin Houston, Melvin Ingram, and Olivier Vernon. That list will only grow larger, of course, as more teams shed veterans to redirect their funds elsewhere.

With that in mind, here’s a look at every NFL team’s cap situation, starting with the league-leading Jaguars:

  1. Jacksonville Jaguars — $32.7MM
  2. Denver Broncos — $28.9MM
  3. New York Jets — $28.5MM
  4. Cleveland Browns — $20.6MM
  5. Los Angeles Chargers — $19.9MM
  6. Detroit Lions — $17.9MM
  7. San Francisco 49ers — $17.8MM
  8. Cincinnati Bengals — $17.4MM
  9. Washington Football Team — $16.7MM
  10. Indianapolis Colts— $14.3MM
  11. Carolina Panthers— $14.3MM
  12. Minnesota Vikings — $13.5MM
  13. Pittsburgh Steelers — $13.1MM
  14. New England Patriots — $13.1MM
  15. New Orleans Saints — $11.4MM
  16. Arizona Cardinals — $11.3MM
  17. Buffalo Bills — $10.5MM
  18. Baltimore Ravens — $8.8MM
  19. Atlanta Falcons — $8.6MM
  20. Seattle Seahawks — $8.3MM
  21. Tennessee Titans — $8.3MM
  22. Kansas City Chiefs — $7.9MM
  23. Los Angeles Rams — $7MM
  24. Chicago Bears — $6MM
  25. Dallas Cowboys — $6MM
  26. Miami Dolphins — $5.3MM
  27. Green Bay Packers — $5MM
  28. Houston Texans — $5MM
  29. Las Vegas Raiders — $3.3MM
  30. Philadelphia Eagles — $3.2MM
  31. New York Giants — $2.4MM
  32. Tampa Bay Buccaneers — $489K

Bengals Rookie Darius Hodge Arrested

July 5th, 2021 at 1:52pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

One new member of the Bengals didn’t have the best Fourth of July. Rookie defensive end Darius Hodge was arrested on the holiday, per WRAL 5 in North Carolina.

Unfortunately the story is light on details, but they do report that the arrest was for an alleged assault all the way back in 2019. Hodge was “charged for hitting a man repeatedly,” but that’s about all they have at the moment. On the surface it doesn’t sound like anything overly serious, but this certainly won’t help the undrafted free agent’s chances of making the team.

The Marshall product had nine tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks in 10 games last year. He was part of a relatively small Bengals UDFA class, and Cincy could use some edge rushing help, so he seemed to have a decent shot initially.

Working in his favor is the fact that this alleged incident happened before his NFL career started, so he won’t be subject to league discipline for it.

Jessie Bates Aiming For Bengals Extension

June 18th, 2021 at 8:09pm CST by Sam Robinson

While the Bengals’ defense has struggled in recent years, one of their safeties emerged as a high-level performer in that span. Jessie Bates is on the cusp of a major payday, and the fourth-year defender would prefer it come from the Bengals.

Pro Football Focus’ top-graded safety in 2020, Bates is just 24 — nearly four years younger than Justin Simmons, who just signed a safety-record contract. It took the Broncos safety two franchise tags to secure that four-year, $61MM deal, but Bates should be in position to follow suit with a big-ticket extension — perhaps in the next several weeks.

“Obviously, I feel like I’m a core piece in Cincinnati. My family is three hours away, so I would love to be here,” Bates said, via Laurel Pfahler of the Dayton Daily News. “My main goal is to take that next level that I keep saying as a leader on this team. The money part of it will come. I just want to win.

“Any time it’s a new contract extension or anything, you get very excited, but like I said, I made a change with my agent last year for this reason. I think a lot of guys focus too much on it, but I feel very comfortable with the change that I made. He knows what he’s doing. It’s not his first time doing it.”

A little over a year ago, Bates hired David Mulugheta of Athletes First. Bates then had his best season as a pro, recording a career-high 15 passes defensed. He is now going into a contract year.

The former second-round pick has proven consistent since the Bengals took him 54th overall three years ago. The Fort Wayne, Ind., product has intercepted three passes in each of his three seasons and posted 100-plus tackles in all three. With six safeties signed to deals averaging more than $14MM per year, Bates can comfortably push to join them.

The Bengals have done a host of late-summer extensions in recent years, pointing to a window for Bates. Tyler Boyd signed his extension in July 2019, while Joe Mixon signed his in early September of last year. The Bengals gave recently departed stars A.J. Green, Geno Atkins and Carlos Dunlap big-money re-ups just ahead of the 2015 and ’18 seasons, respectively. The franchise also has a rookie-quarterback contract around which to build now.

Bengals OL Hakeem Adeniji Could Be Out For Season

June 16th, 2021 at 6:45pm CST by Ben Levine

Hakeem Adeniji is likely done for the season. Bengals head coach Zac Taylor revealed that the offensive lineman will likely be sidelined for the entire 2021 campaign after undergoing surgery (via Geoff Hobson of the team’s website).

Adeniji tore a pectoral muscle less than two weeks ago, necessitating the surgery. There’s a chance that the recovery time only takes a few months, but it sounds like Taylor is assuming that the lineman will be out for the entire season.

This is a tough break for the 23-year-old. The 2020 sixth-round pick had an opportunity to build off an impressive rookie campaign that saw him appear in 15 games with five starts. Adeniji ultimately saw time in 22-percent of his team’s offensive snaps and 13-percent of his team’s special teams snaps.

The lineman logged snaps at both tackle spots and even tight end last season, and his versatility meant he was likely to retain his spot on the roster. As Hobson notes, there was even some optimism that Adeniji could start at one of the guard spots, meaning the Bengals will have to dig into their offensive line depth to replace the second-year pro. Per Hobson, D’Ante Smith could see more snaps at offensive tackle, while the team could turn to a handful of guard candidates (including Xavier Su’a-Filo, Quinton Spain, and Michael Jordan).

CB Johnathan Joseph Announces Retirement

June 10th, 2021 at 2:36pm CST by Sam Robinson

Johnathan Joseph enjoyed one of the longest careers among modern cornerbacks, lasting 15 seasons. The accomplished cover man announced (via Twitter) Thursday he will not attempt to play a 16th NFL campaign, choosing retirement instead.

A former Bengals first-round pick, Joseph spent most of his career in Cincinnati and Houston. However, he spent time in Tennessee and Arizona in his final season. Overall, Joseph played in 211 games and logged 192 starts during a career that included two Pro Bowls.

The South Carolina alum displayed a knack for finding the end zone during his career, intercepting 32 passes and taking seven back for touchdowns. Joseph, 37, will leave the game tied for seventh all time in pick-sixes — alongside Hall of Famers Ed Reed, Ty Law, Lem Barney and Herb Adderley. Joseph added a fumble return for a score in 2008. While Joseph will not end up in the Hall of Fame like his pick-six contemporaries, he was regarded as one of the NFL’s best corners for several seasons during his prime.

Joseph added two postseason interceptions, both coming in Texans wild-card wins over the Bengals. He played a key role in elevating Houston to those early-2010s January games, which doubled as the franchise’s initial playoff appearances. The 5-foot-11 defender made the Pro Bowl in those seasons. The Texans gave Joseph a five-year, $48.75MM contract in 2011. He performed well enough that the team extended him — on a three-year, $22MM deal — in the summer of 2015. Joseph ended up outlasting both A.J. Bouye and first-round pick Kevin Johnson in Houston; Johnson opted to retire this month as well.

With the Bengals in 2009, Joseph notched a career-high six INTs to help the franchise to the AFC North championship. Joseph signed with the Titans last year but could not help an overmatched defense much, though he did add one more INT to his career total. The Titans released him in November, but he caught on soon after with a familiar face. Johnathan Joseph concluded his career with the Cardinals, playing for former Texans secondary coach Vance Joseph.

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