Bengals Re-Sign P Kevin Huber
For the 13th-straight season, Kevin Huber will be punting for the Cincinnati Bengals. The team re-signed the veteran special teamer today, per the NFL’s transaction report.
Huber has established himself as a Cincinnati legend over the years. Following a pair of All-American seasons for the Cincinnati Bearcats, Huber joined the Bengals as a fifth-round pick in 2009. Since that time, the punter has only missed a pair of games for Cincy, earning both a Pro Bowl nod and first-team All-Pro recognition in 2014. Huber owns a number of franchise records, including punts (914) and punting yards (41,362). Huber has also appeared in the fourth-most games (190) in franchise history, and he could break the team record (207, held by defensive back Ken Riley) by playing two more seasons.
Huber had another steady season in 2020. The 35-year-old collected 71 punts for 3,350 yards, with his 47.2 yards per punt serving as a new career-high.
The Bengals special teams units may look a bit different in 2021. The team re-signed long snapper Clark Harris, but they watched as starting kicker Randy Bullock left for the Lions.
Nick Easton To Visit Bengals, Texans
Nick Easton‘s market is starting to heat up it seems. The veteran offensive lineman was cut by the Saints about six weeks ago, and not too long after we heard that he’d already been in touch with four teams.
Things went quiet after that though, until now. Easton has “possible visits” with the Bengals and Texans in the coming days, a source told Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Fowler notes that New Orleans has also expressed interest in bringing him back “if they can make it work cap-wise.” That tracks with what we heard back in February, as the Saints cut him in as part of their complicated maneuvering to get under the cap.
Easton entered the league as an UDFA in 2015, and became a part-time starter with the Vikings in 2016. He became a full-time starter in 2017, showed well, and after missing the entire 2018 season due to injury signed a four-year, $24MM pact with the Saints in 2019.
He made it just two years into that deal, and started nine games for New Orleans last year. He’s still only 28, and with his NFL experience at both center and guard would make for a solid late signing for teams in need of interior line help. The Bengals are looking to completely remake Joe Burrow‘s protection for 2021, and recently added fellow former Viking Riley Reiff to start at right tackle.
Contract Details: Trubisky, Andrews, Carson, Jones, Reiff, Joyner
Let’s catch up on the latest contract details from around the league:
- QB Mitchell Trubisky, Bills: One-year, $2MM base salary with $1.5MM guaranteed, $500K signing bonus, and $2MM available in incentives. Via Field Yates of ESPN on Twitter.
- C David Andrews, Patriots: Four-years, $19 MM, with $6.5MM fully guaranteed. More money available in play-time incentives. Via Tom Pelissero of NFL Network on Twitter.
- RB Chris Carson, Seahawks: Two-years, $10.425MM, $4.5MM signing bonus and $1MM guaranteed salary for 2021. $4.5MM non-guaranteed 2022 salary and $450K in per-game roster bonuses in ‘22. Up to $1.4MM in incentives in both years. Via Dan Graziano of ESPN on Twitter.
- RB Aaron Jones, Packers: Four-years, $48MM. The $13MM signing bonus is the only fully guaranteed money in the contract. A $3.5MM roster bonus is due on the first day of next league year. For 2023, a $7MM roster bonus is due on the third day of the league year. You can read the full breakdown of each year of the contract via Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com.
- OL Riley Reiff, Bengals: One-year, $7.5MM. $5.5MM guaranteed. We hadn’t known the terms of this contract yet, and $7.5MM is a pretty decent price for the Bengals for a solid starting tackle. Via Yates on Twitter.
- S Lamarcus Joyner, Jets: One-year, up to $4.5MM. $2.5MM is guaranteed, with a $1MM signing bonus and $1.5MM base salary. Up to $500K in per game active roster bonuses and $1.5MM in playing time and interception incentives. Via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle on Twitter.
Bengals Trade QB Ryan Finley To Texans
Ryan Finley isn’t getting cut after all. On Friday, the Bengals agreed to trade the quarterback to the Texans in an exchange of late-round picks. The Bengals will move up ~30 spots in the swap as they send Finley and a 7th-round pick to the Texans for a sixth-round pick (Twitter link via Adam Schefter of ESPN.com). Rather than their original sixth-rounder, the Texans are sending the choice that originally belonged to Miami. 
[RELATED: Bengals Release Geno Atkins]
Finley wound up starting as a rookie when Andy Dalton got the hook. The 2019 fourth-round pick was 0-3 in his starts with two touchdowns against two interceptions. He got a chance to start once again in 2020 when the Bengals faced the Steelers in Week 15. He absorbed a devastating hit in that game and only completed about half of his 13 throws, but he did manage to emerge as the winning QB.
The Texans have been actively bargain shopping in recent days. Needless to say, this isn’t the Houston QB news that everyone has been waiting on. At last check, the Texans are still refusing inquiries on Deshaun Watson. Meanwhile, Watson is making headlines for a string of off-the-field allegations.
Bengals Release Geno Atkins
The Bengals released defensive tackle Geno Atkins, head coach Zac Taylor announced. Atkins was due $12.2MM in non-guaranteed money, so the Bengals took the opportunity to wipe that from the books. In addition, the Bengals are also cutting quarterback Ryan Finley and offensive tackle Bobby Hart (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). All together, the moves will save the Bengals roughly $30MM in cap space.
Atkins fought through a shoulder injury throughout the season. Towards the end, it proved to be too much to play with. He suited up for just eight games in total, and, even when he was healthy, he wasn’t happy about his playing time. His final tally: zero sacks and zero starts. It was a sharp drop from his pre-extension season in 2017, when he finished out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 2 ranked interior defender. The Bengals could have had the perennial Pro Bowler under contract through 2022, but his $14.8MM cap hit for 2021 was too much.
Last year, he watched his longtime counterpart Carlos Dunlap — the No. 1 all-time Bengals sack leader — get shipped to the Seahawks. It’s now the 33-year-old’s turn to exit. He leaves with eight Pro Bowls to his credit and the second-highest sack total in franchise history.
Hart, whose release will yield ~$6MM in savings, was long rumored to be a cap casualty. And, with Riley Reiff in the mix, his services were no longer needed.
Bengals To Sign Riley Reiff
The Bengals have agreed to sign former Vikings left tackle Riley Reiff, as Jay Morrison of The Athletic tweets. Terms of the deal are not yet known. 
[RELATED: Bengals Sign DL Larry Ogunjobi]
Reiff has never made a Pro Bowl or All-Pro team, but he’s been a solid starter for much of his career. The move to Cincinnati could force a change of positions — Jonah Williams is set to start at left tackle, so Reiff could wind up on the opposite side. He could also be kicked to the interior, which was rumored to be the plan at various times in Minnesota.
The Bengals started free agency with a defensive spending spree, but they’re also looking to fortify the front five. Reiff may help to keep Joe Burrow upright and healthy after his devastating ACL/MCL injury in 2020. There’s still more work to be done in that area — fortunately, the Bengals have plenty of draft capital to bolster the OL.
Bengals Sign DL Larry Ogunjobi
Larry Ogunjobi is staying in the AFC North. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports that the defensive lineman, who spent the first four years of his career with the Browns, is heading to the Bengals on a one-year deal (Twitter link).
This represents yet another defensive acquisition for Cincinnati, which has added a pair of cornerbacks — Mike Hilton and Chidobe Awuzie — and defensive end Trey Hendrickson over the past several days. The Bengals have tangled with Ogunjobi two times per season since he entered the league as a third-round draft choice in 2017, and they were apparently impressed.
They also got him for less of a commitment than many expected. As of late January, Spotrac pegged Ogunjobi’s market value at three years and roughly $28MM, and as Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com wrote at the time, the Browns were not going to be involved in the bidding if it got to that point. But Ogunjobi, as many players have done, elected to take a one-year pact with the hopes of hitting the market again in 2022, when the salary cap should dramatically increase.
Pro Football Focus was not high on Ogunjobi’s work in 2020, grading him as the 105th-best interior defender out of 125 qualifiers. But he has been a full-time starter since 2018 and has shown some ability to generate interior pass rush (14.5 career sacks) while holding up against the run. Just 26, he still might not have hit his ceiling, and his presence could allow the Bengals to part with stalwart Geno Atkins.
Atkins, who will turn 33 later this month, has been rumored as a cap casualty after an injury-marred 2020 season. His release would free up $9.5MM of cap room.
Riley Reiff To Visit Bengals
The Bengals entered free agency with glaring holes along the offensive line, but they spent the past couple of days bolstering their defense. They may now be shifting gears, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports that former Vikings left tackle Riley Reiff will take a visit with Cincinnati (Twitter link).
Reiff, who was released by Minnesota last week, has never made a Pro Bowl or All-Pro team, but he has been a mostly solid starter since he entered the league as a first-round pick of the Lions in 2012. There was some chatter in recent seasons that he could be shifted inside to guard, but that never materialized.
The Bengals, though, have Jonah Williams penciled in at LT. So if Reiff signs with Cincinnati, he could end up at right tackle or, theoretically, at one of the guard positions.
We heard back in January that the Bengals could spend big on the O-line this offseason, which would be a major departure from their standard operating procedure. But it makes sense, as the club needs to protect quarterback Joe Burrow at all costs, a point that was driven home in brutal fashion when Burrow suffered a torn ACL and MCL in Week 11 of the 2020 season. Reiff might not be a world beater, but he is a major upgrade over what the Bengals trotted out last year, and if the club can sign him and acquire another quality blocker or two in the draft and/or free agency, Burrow will surely be a happy man.
The young signal-caller would also be delighted if the team adds another top-flight receiver to his cadre of weapons. The Bengals have an offer out to WR Kenny Golladay, who, along with Tyler Boyd and Tee Higgins, would create a rather fearsome trio of pass catchers..
Bengals To Re-Sign RB Samaje Perine
Samaje Perine is returning to Cincinnati. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports (via Twitter) that the running back is signing a two-year deal with the Bengals.
Perine showed promise as a rookie with Washington in 2017, finishing with 785 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns. However, he was limited to only five games in 2018, and he was waived prior to the start of the 2019 season. Perine later had a brief stint with the Bengals, and he ended that season of the Dolphins roster.
Perine ended up rejoining the Bengals last offseason, and he had a bounce-back season in Cincy. With the Bengals dealing with injuries to Joe Mixon, Perine ended up seeing time in all 16 games, including one start. He finished the season having compiled 367 yards from scrimmage and a career-high three touchdowns.
Bengals Submit Offer To Kenny Golladay
The Kenny Golladay news cycle continues to develop. Shortly after the former Lions receiver’s Giants visit surfaced, ESPN.com’s Dianna Russini reports the Bengals have made Golladay an offer (Twitter link).
Other teams are in on Golladay as well, per Russini, but he does intend to visit New York to meet with Giants brass. The Bengals just saw A.J. Green defect to the Cardinals, but the team also is fairly well positioned at receiver.
The Bengals’ offer does not appear to have moved the needle for Golladay. Cincinnati proposed what Albert Breer of SI.com characterizes as a one-year, “prove it”-type contract (Twitter link). While Golladay may circle back to the Bengals, he will continue his free agency process.
Cincinnati received a quality glimpse of Tee Higgins‘ potential last season, and Tyler Boyd is signed long-term. Green played on an $18MM franchise tag last season, opening a spot for Golladay to work with Joe Burrow. The Bengals have used a few high picks on receivers in recent years, from Higgins to Boyd to John Ross. The latter, a top-10 pick, agreed to terms with the Giants this week.
Although the Bengals are not traditionally a team known for big offseason spending, they deviated from their usual course last year by signing a few big-ticket free agents. Golladay is coming off a season in which hamstring and hip maladies limited him to five games, but the two-time 1,000-yard receiver would certainly qualify as a splashy addition. With the Giants in the running and the Dolphins being linked to the four-year veteran before the market opened, this signing will not come cheap.