The Bengals heard the criticisms after their Super Bowl run and got an early start on protecting Joe Burrow. Nothing can become official until the new league year begins Wednesday afternoon, but the Bengals have agreed to terms with offensive linemen Ted Karras and Alex Cappa.
Neither of those signings are going to blow anyone away off the bat, but they’re still huge upgrades. Quinton Spain wasn’t bad by any means, but he’ll be 31 at the start of the year and is a pending free agent. Jackson Carman and Hakeem Adeniji simply weren’t great when they played. This was a position of dire need for the Bengals, and they’ve made an obvious effort to better it.
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Above all else, the additions of Cappa and Karras are big due to their durability. Cappa started all 17 games for Tampa Bay in the 2021 season, something that only Jonah Williams and Spain did for the Bengals (the Week 17 game against the Browns, in which no starters played, notwithstanding). Karras hasn’t missed a game for New England since 2019.
Additionally, Cappa and Karras each earned higher grades from Pro Football Focus in 2021 than any of Spain, Carman, and Adeniji. Cappa earned an overall grade of 74.2, and Karras earned a grade of 72.8. Spain earned a comparatively respectable grade of 72.3., while Carman and Adeniji earned far lesser grades at 56.3, and 48.3, respectively.
Hill and Johnson stick around
The Bengals also re-signed defensive tackle B.J. Hill to a three-year, $30 million contract. Larry Ogunjobi had agreed to join the Bears on a richer contract (three years, $40.5 million) minutes earlier, making the move to keep Hill critical for continuity on the defensive line alongside D.J. Reader, Trey Hendrickson, and Sam Hubbard.
Hill made arguably the play of the Bengals’ season in the AFC Championship Game against Kansas City, batting a Patrick Mahomes pass into the air before intercepting it himself to set up the game-tying score. He only played about half of the Bengals’ defensive snaps in 2021, but with Ogunjobi gone, Hill’s path to more playing time is clear.
The Bengals also tendered offensive tackle Fred Johnson, keeping him around on a one-year deal. Cincinnati will likely still look for an upgrade at right tackle via the draft, free agency, or a trade, but keeping Johnson around for depth is prudent.
The Bengals have plenty of moves left to make and the cap space to work with. Notably, tight end C.J. Uzomah is still looking for a new deal – the Bengals should get on that as soon as possible. Even so, this is a good start to a very important offseason for the future of the franchise, both immediate and long-term.
– Chris Railsback is a contributing writer for the Bengals at Full Press Coverage.
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