Bobby Hart Contract Details
- In desperate need of offensive line depth, the Bengals recently signed ex-Giants tackle Bobby Hart, but his contract details show that he’s not a lock for Cincinnati’s roster, as Jim Owczarski of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports (Facebook link). Hart got a $50K signing bonus and will collect another $200K bonus if he’s on the Bengals’ Week 1 roster. All told, Hart will be an easy cut for Cincinnati if he doesn’t prove his worth during the summer.
Free Agent TE Tyler Eifert Medically Cleared
Bengals tight end — and pending free agent — Tyler Eifert has been medically cleared to participate in organized team activities and play during the 2018 season, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Earning a clean bill of health is incredibly significant for Eifert, who has only been able to appear in 49% (39 of 80) of his possible games during a five-year career. In 2017, Eifert appeared in just two contests before undergoing back surgery for the second consecutive season. While being healthy in February represents no guarantee Eifert will be available for the entirety of the 2018 campaign, interested clubs can now be assured they aren’t signing a damaged player.
A former first-round pick, Eifert enters free agency as one of the better tight ends on the market despite his health questions. Eifert’s best season came in 2015, when he posted 52 receptions for 615 yards and 13 touchdowns, and the memory of that output will likely earn the now 27-year-old several offers next month.
Whether the Bengals have any chance at re-signing the dynamic Eifert remains unclear. Last week, Paul Dehner Jr. of the Cincinnati Enquirer tweeted that Cincinnati remains unlikely to bring back Eifert, noting the club would only be interested in an incentive-laden deal. However, other teams will likely be willing to ink Eifert to even more attractive pacts, and the Bengals don’t intend to get into a bidding war.
If and when Eifert hits the open market, he’ll join a free agent tight end class that also includes Jimmy Graham, Trey Burton, and Austin Seferian-Jenkins.
John Ross Expected To Be Ready By Spring
John Ross endured a disastrous rookie season after seeing his stock rise during 2017 Combine weekend. The Bengals‘ 2017 first-round pick did not catch a pass and ended the season on IR after suffering multiple injuries last year. Ross, though, is expected to be ready to run routes come spring despite undergoing shoulder surgery in December. He had both shoulders operated on last year and couldn’t get on the field until the second week of training camp following a spring shoulder surgery.
“That was the problem,” Ross said, via Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. “My body didn’t respond the way I wanted it to. Coming in late, I didn’t get to train. I was out of shape. That was pretty tough on my body. Rushing into it. Being out of shape. My body couldn’t take the physical aspects of the game we do every day. I thought I could. I think it kind of wore me out faster than I thought.
Jake Fisher Cleared After Heart Issue
- An irregular heartbeat shelved Jake Fisher midway through the season, inducing the Bengals to place their right tackle on the Reserve/NFI list. But the fourth-year blocker has been cleared to return to action, the Bengals announced. A 2015 second-rounder, Fisher is entering a contract year. He started a career-high seven games in 2017 prior to the heart problem sidelining him. The franchise is optimistic Fisher can have a strong season.
NFL Awards Compensatory Picks To 15 Teams
The NFL has awarded 15 compensatory draft picks to teams, as directed by the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. The compensatory pick system provides additional picks to teams who lose more/better qualifying free agents in the previous year than gained.
This year, the 32 comp picks were dispersed to 15 different teams. Here is the complete rundown:
Round 3
- No. 97 overall – Cardinals
- No. 98 overall – Texans
- No. 99 overall – Broncos
- No. 100 overall – Bengals
Round 4
- No. 133 overall – Packers
- No. 134 overall – Cardinals
- No. 135 overall – Giants
- No. 136 overall – Patriots
- No. 137 overall – Cowboys
Round 5
- No. 170 overall – Bengals
- No. 171 overall – Cowboys
- No. 172 overall – Packers
- No. 173 overall – Cowboys
- No. 174 overall – Packers
Round 6
- No. 207 overall – Packers
- No. 208 overall – Cowboys
- No. 209 overall – Chiefs
- No. 210 overall – Raiders
- No. 211 overall – Texans
- No. 212 overall – Raiders
- No. 213 overall – Vikings
- No. 214 overall – Texans
- No. 215 overall – Ravens
- No. 216 overall – Raiders
- No. 217 overall – Raiders
- No. 218 overall – Vikings
Round 7
- No. 251 overall – Chargers
- No. 252 overall – Bengals
- No. 253 overall – Bengals
- No. 254 overall – Cardinals
- No. 255 overall – Buccaneers
- No. 256 overall – Falcons
The Bengals, Cowboys, Packers and Raiders lead the way in comp picks this year with four. The Cardinals and Texans each snagged three, the Vikings own two, and the Falcons, Ravens, Broncos, Chiefs, Chargers, Patriots, Giants, and Buccaneers each have one.
Latest On Bengals' Backup QB Situation
Now that quarterback A.J. McCarron has been granted unrestricted free agent status, there’s essentially no chance the Bengals will seek to re-sign him for the 2018 season. Cincinnati will likely collect a compensatory draft pick in 2019 as a result of losing McCarron, but the Bengals need to solidify their backup quarterback position in the near-term, as Jim Owczarski of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes. With starter Andy Dalton locked up through the 2020 campaign, the Bengals could add a developmental signal-caller — as they did when selecting McCarron in the fifth round of the 2014 draft — or ink a veteran backup.
At present, 2016 sixth-rounder Jeff Driskel is Cincinnati’s No. 2 quarterback, but it’s unclear if the Bengals will trust Driskel to serve as Dalton’s backup next year. Per Owczarski, the Bengals asked Driskel to take practice reps at wide receiver heading into their 2017 regular-season finale. Driskel did so, but broke his left arm making a leaping, one-handed catch. He’s undergone surgery, and should be ready for offseason workouts in April.
How Will A.J. McCarron's Departure Impact The Bengals?
- Now that A.J. McCarron is set to leave the Bengals, Jim Owczarski of the Cincinnati Enquirer wonders what his departure will mean for Cincinnati. He says Andy Dalton is not going anywhere — which was at least a remote possibility before Marvin Lewis decided to return — and he believes the Bengals could look to address other, more pressing needs in the early rounds of the 2018 draft and select a polished collegiate signal-caller in the middle rounds (just as they did with McCarron). Owczarski also suggests that Cincinnati could add a veteran on a one-year deal to back up Dalton.
Bengals Won’t Face Penalty Over McCarron
On Thursday, Bengals quarterback A.J. McCarron scored two victories against his employer. The most notable, of course, is that he will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason. The other W came in the way of restitution for the year he spent on the non-football injury (NFI) list. McCarron will recoup his lost salary for that time, but the Bengals will not be fined for the move, Mike Florio of PFT reports. 
“The NFL Management Council represented the club in the grievance,” league spokesman Brian McCarthy said via email.
When asked whether this means that the league agreed with the team’s decision to place McCarron on the NFI list in 2014, McCarthy responded in the affirmative. McCarron did not agree with the decision, of course, and an arbitrator sided with him against the team.
The Bengals drafted the Alabama product in 2014 and placed him on the NFI list at the start of training camp due to a shoulder injury. McCarron later argued that he was healthy enough to come off of NFI during camp, but the Bengals did not activate him until December of that year. Placing McCarron on the NFI list allowed the Bengals to effectively stash an extra player on the roster and also gave them grounds to argue that he did not accrue a full year of service time that would allow him to reach UFA status in 2018.
McCarron is now set for unfettered free agency, where he figures to make a whole lot more than the one-year, ~$4MM tender he likely would have gotten from the Bengals.
A.J. McCarron Speaks On Future
Now that’s been declared an unrestricted free agent, Bengals quarterback A.J. McCarron says he’s “open to everything,” according to Jim Owczarski of the Cincinnati Enquirer. “It’s just awesome just to be free now and to hopefully get that opportunity and be able to compete somewhere,” said McCarron. “That’s all I’ve ever wanted. I’m just super excited.” McCarron, who won a grievance against the Bengals, will now join a free agent signal-caller class that includes Kirk Cousins, Case Keenum, and Sam Bradford, among others. In what sounds like speculation, the Browns (who nearly traded for McCarron last year) and the Vikings are two team to “keep an eye on” as McCarron hits the open market, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (video link).
A.J. McCarron To Be Unrestricted Free Agent
Quarterback A.J. McCarron has won his grievance against the Bengals, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). He’ll be an unrestricted free agent this offseason and finally get his opportunity to be a starting quarterback. 
McCarron has not seen a lot of playing time behind Andy Dalton, but he has impressed in a limited sample. In the final four games of 2015, when Dalton was out with an injury, he passed for 832 yards and six touchdowns against just two interceptions.
Last year, the Bengals were able to keep McCarron at a very modest $735K cap number. Had they been able to tag him as a restricted free agent with the first-round tender, they would have been able to either retain him for about $4MM or acquire a first-round pick from the team signing him. Instead, McCarron will hit free agency completely unfettered, making a return to the Bengals unlikely. Already, head coach Marvin Lewis has dismissed the idea of moving on from Dalton as the team’s starter this season and the Bengals can’t afford to give McCarron starter-type money.
In addition to winning UFA status, McCarron will also collect on lost salary from the 2014 season, with interest (Twitter link via Rapoport). In that season, McCarron was placed on the NFI list due to a shoulder injury.
This year’s unrestricted free agent QB class was already shaping up to be one of the best in recent memory and the addition of McCarron makes it even stronger. Kirk Cousins is the unanimous top draw, but Vikings QBs Case Keenum, Sam Bradford, and Teddy Bridgewater are also scheduled to reach the open market in March. Technically speaking, Saints QB Drew Brees is also a free agent, but he is widely expected to re-sign with the club before things open up next month.
Beyond those free agents, there’s also likely trade candidate Tyrod Taylor and a handful of intriguing QB prospects in this year’s draft. Teams with uncertainty under center like the Jets, Broncos, Browns, and Cardinals couldn’t ask for more in the way of options.