Panthers To Sign John Miller
The Bengals released right guard John Miller and replaced him with Xavier Su’a-Filo earlier today. Miller did not remain jobless for long though. The Panthers have agreed to terms with Miller on a one-year, $4MM contract, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. While the Bengals moved on from Miller, the Panthers have already traded guard Trai Turner and fellow interior offensive lineman Greg Van Roten remains a free agent.
Miller spent the first four years of his career as the primary right guard with the Bills. Last offseason the Bengals signed Miller to a three-year, $16.5MM deal. In 2019, Miller performed in line with his career history, starting 13 games and grading out as the 52nd highest-graded guard of 80 qualified players at Pro Football Focus, but the Bengals still decided to move on.
Bengals Sign Xavier Su’a-Filo
The Bengals have agreed to a three-year deal worth up to $10MM with guard Xavier Su’a-Filo, according to Ben Baby of ESPN. Filo has spent the previous two seasons with the Cowboys. Tyler Dragon of the Cincinnati Enquirer adds that he is expected to replace John Miller at right guard.
In 2014, the Texans selected Su’a-Filo with the first pick in the second round of the draft out of UCLA with the hope he would become a long-term option at guard. While he served as the team’s starter at left guard from 2015-2017, Su’a-Filo never seemed to reach the upper echelon of players at his position.
Following his tenure in Houston, Dallas signed him to a two-year contract where he served as a rotational guard, starting 12 of the 19 games he appeared in. The Bengals have been uncommonly aggressive this free-agency cycle and it appears they added another player they plan to slot into their starting lineup.
Bengals To Cut John Miller
The Bengals are releasing starting guard John Miller, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Miller joined the team as a free agent just one year ago, but he no longer fit into their plans. 
Miller was set to play out the last two seasons on his three-year, $16.5MM deal. By dropping him, the Bengals will save $2.61MM against $2.66MM in dead money.
Last year, Miller started in 13 games for the Bengals. Previous to that, he started in 47 games for the Bills across four seasons. His tenure in Buffalo garnered mixed reviews – in 2017, he was demoted in favor of Vlad Ducasse. But, in 2018, he regained his starting gig and showed enough to land a decent payday with the Bengals. Now, he’ll look for work elsewhere.
Bengals To Cut B.W. Webb
The Bengals will release B.W. Webb today, according to ESPN.com’s Josina Anderson (on Twitter). The move will save the team $3.5MM against the 2020 salary cap while leaving $1MM in dead money. 
Webb joined the Bengals last year on a two-year, $10.5MM deal, but he only fetched $2.5MM in guaranteed dollars. In his lone Bengals season, Webb appeared in 15 games and started in 12 of those contests. In a difficult season full of injuries, the Bengals finished the year 2-14.
Webb, who turns 30 in May, had a stronger 2018 when he was with the Giants. In that season, he graded out as the No. 77 ranked corner in the league, according to Pro Football Focus. By those advanced metrics, he performed roughly as well as Morris Claiborne, Marcus Peters, Minkah Fitzpatrick, and Jimmy Smith.
It’s just the latest shuffling of cornerbacks for the Bengals, who added Trae Waynes and lost Darqueze Dennard to the Jaguars this week.
Bengals To Sign CB Trae Waynes
Minutes after losing Darqueze Dennard, the Bengals will add another former first-round cornerback. They have agreed to a deal with longtime Vikings defender Trae Waynes, Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL.com report (via Twitter).
The Bengals will pay big money to land him as well, with Tom Pelissero of NFL.com reporting (via Twitter) this is a three-year, $42MM deal. The $14MM-AAV contract will pay out $20MM in Year 1 and net Waynes $31MM after the 2021 season, per Pelissero. This puts Waynes among the top-10 highest-paid cornerbacks.
Waynes was a regular starter with Minnesota over the past three seasons and joins Xavier Rhodes among Vikings corners set to play elsewhere in 2020. Waynes will join another team that has valued corners extensively. The Bengals, despite losing Dennard, still roster ex-first-rounders Dre Kirkpatrick and William Jackson.
While Waynes has topped out at an above-average level, never grading above 70.0 on Pro Football Focus’ scale in five seasons (but never grading below 63.0), this still represents significant deviation for the Bengals. They just signed D.J. Reader to an eight-figure-per-year deal. He and Waynes double as the conservative franchise’s most notable outside free agent investments in many years.
The Vikings selected Waynes in the 2015 first round and used him as a starter in 53 games. Over the past few days, the Vikings have moved on from several members of the core they spent years assembling. Rhodes, Linval Joseph and Stefon Diggs are gone. Everson Griffen is a free agent. Minnesota has done some retooling this week and will need to add reinforcements at corner with two of their primary cover men out of the picture.
Bengals To Sign D.J. Reader
The Bengals have reached agreement on a deal with Texans free agent defensive tackle D.J. Reader, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Reader is set to collect $53MM on his new four-year deal with Cincy.
The Broncos, Bills, and Titans were among the clubs connected to Reader in recent weeks. Just last night, we heard that Denver was in discussions with the Clemson product. The Texans, meanwhile, wanted to keep him, but the two sides were unable to come to terms on compensation. Reader was relatively unheralded coming out of college, slipping to the fifth-round in 2016. He’s certainly not unheralded anymore.
Reader was exceptional against the run last year. He’s also made strides as a pass rusher – he didn’t register a ton of sacks, but that doesn’t quite tell the whole story. He was often able to generate some pressure up the middle, and disrupt the pocket. Now, he’ll pair with Geno Atkins to form one of the most intimidating interior duos in the NFL. The Bengals will now have an imposing defensive front, but they still have some work to do at linebacker and in the secondary.
Cincinnati usually wasn’t a big spender in free agency during the Marvin Lewis era, but they’ve clearly changed their approach with new head coach Zac Taylor. They’ve particularly been going after guys on defense, as we heard they tried aggressively for linebackers Joe Schobert and Nick Kwatikoski before those two guys landed their huge deals.
The Bengals’ defense was atrocious last year, and obviously they’re willing to spend big to revamp it. They’re hoping Reader and an improved defense will make life easier for a rookie quarterback, presumably LSU’s Joe Burrow, in 2020.
Bengals Tried Hard For LBs Joe Schobert, Nick Kwiatkoski
Free agent linebacker Joe Schobert just agreed to a massive contract with Jacksonville, and he apparently had options. The Bengals were “trying aggressively” to land Schobert, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (Twitter link). 
Schobert got five years and $54MM from the Jaguars, and Fowler reports that they were unwilling to match that. Cincinnati is usually never a big player in free agency, and they’ve now struck out on a couple of their bigger attempts. The Bengals were also in until the end on Nick Kwiatkoski, who ended up with the Raiders, tweets Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic. Clearly, they’re looking for linebacker help.
Given what Cincy’s defense looked like last year, it isn’t surprising that they’re being a little more active than usual in free agency. The Bengals were the worst team in the league in the first season of the Zac Taylor era, and figure to start completely fresh in 2020, likely with a new rookie quarterback.
Playing in the same division as the Browns and facing him twice a year, the Bengals had plenty of opportunities to scout Schobert. Inside linebackers have been flying off the board, and the pickings are now officially somewhat slim. One of the top remaining options is one of their own, Nick Vigil.
The fact that the Bengals were interested in these guys is a sign they weren’t too keen on bringing Vigil back, but they could pivot and re-sign him now that they’ve whiffed on Schobert and Kwiatkowski.
RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/16/20
Monday’s restricted free agent and exclusive rights free agent tender decisions will be posted below. Deals will be updated throughout the day.
RFAs
Tendered at original-round level:
- Bengals: TE Cethan Carter, G Alex Redmond, DT Josh Tupou, S Brandon Wilson
- Broncos: WR Tim Patrick
- Dolphins: LB Vince Biegel, P Matt Haack
- Raiders: QB Nathan Peterman, LB Nicholas Morrow
- Seahawks: WR David Moore, C Joey Hunt, DE Branden Jackson
Non-tendered:
- Bills: WR Isaiah McKenzie
- Dolphins: S Adrian Colbert, LB Deon Lacey
- Eagles: RB Corey Clement
- Giants: C Jon Halapio
ERFAs
Tendered:
- Broncos: S Trey Marshall, WR Diontae Spencer, CB Shakial Taylor
- Browns: Pharaoh Brown, RB Dontrell Hilliard, WR KhaDarel Hodge
- Chiefs: G Andrew Wylie
- Colts: DB Rolan Milligan
- Lions: CB Dee Virgin
- Ravens: RB Gus Edwards
Non-tendered:
- Chiefs: TE David Wells
Bengals Plan To Franchise Tag A.J. Green
MARCH 16: Less than two hours before the tag-applying deadline, the Bengals informed Green he will be tagged, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. The 31-year-old standout voiced opposition to this move months ago and is coming off a season-long absence.
But after Burrow indicated he would like to have Green in the fold, should he become Cincinnati’s top pick, the Bengals followed through on their expected course of action. A Green tag will cost the Bengals $17.9MM.
MARCH 1: The Bengals plan to put the franchise tag on wide receiver A.J. Green, per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The club wants him back in 2020, either on the tag or under a new multi-year pact.
The move will not make Green too happy, as he has previously indicated that he is opposed to the franchise tag. He conceded he would not engage in a season-long holdout if he and Cincinnati cannot work out a new contract, but he is open to holding out throughout the offseason program and training camp. Given that the Bengals will presumably have rookie QB Joe Burrow under center in 2020, Green’s presence during the spring and summer months will be especially crucial, so look for the team to ramp up negotiations in short order.
Of course, determining fair market value for Green won’t be easy. He will doubtlessly be shooting for the top of the wide receiver market, and his abilities and track record make that a fair ask. But he missed the entire 2019 campaign due to an ankle injury, and he hasn’t suited up for a game since Week 13 of the 2018 season. Plus, he will be 32 before the 2020 regular season gets underway, so player and team may have a hard time finding a middle ground.
The Bengals would not have been a playoff team in 2019 even with a healthy Green, but his presence was sorely missed. Cincinnati’s offense was one of the least efficient units in the league last year, and the club finished near the bottom of the pack in terms of yards per game and points per game.
Green, who made the Pro Bowl in each of his first seven years in the league, has topped 1,000 yards every year in which he has appeared in at least 13 games. He has averaged nearly 15 yards per catch in his career, and he has reach double-digit touchdowns three times. He was, without question, one of the best receivers in the league. The Bengals need to figure out if he still is.
Bengals To Release Cordy Glenn
After failed attempts to trade Cordy Glenn, the Bengals will release him Friday, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Bengals efforts to move Glenn surfaced last week, but predictably, Cincinnati could not find a taker for the tackle’s contract.
When the Bills traded Glenn to the Bengals in 2018, he was still attached to the deal he signed in 2016 after being franchise-tagged. While Glenn was only set to make $7.5MM in 2020 base salary, he missed most of last season and has seen his value drop in recent years.
The Bengals’ 2019 first-round selection of Jonah Williams prompted the team to move Glenn to guard. However, that became a short-term transition. Williams’ season-nullifying injury slid Glenn back to left tackle. But Glenn did not end up taking his place in the Bengals’ starting lineup until November. A severe concussion that led to a lengthy Glenn absence preceded a disagreement between player and team over the handling of the head injury. Glenn’s argument with a Bengals coach led to the team suspending him for a game.
Cincinnati will attempt to move on with Williams at left tackle. This will mark a reboot, with Williams likely set to protect Joe Burrow next season. Glenn, 30, will join a suddenly populated contingent of available left tackles. Both Jason Peters and Trent Williams are now on the market, via free agency or trade. Glenn was once a highly regarded tackle in Buffalo and would seemingly be a candidate for a prove-it deal.