The Falcons made longtime safety starter Ricardo Allen a cap casualty last month. The Bengals are exploring the prospect of bringing him in.
Allen visited the Bengals on Tuesday, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Because Allen is a street free agent, he would be able to sign with another team at any point.
A starter for the Falcons in Super Bowl LI, Allen has operated as a first-string safety since the 2015 season. The former fifth-round pick saw his run as a key Falcons defender pause in 2018, with an early season injury wiping out most of that campaign, but he bounced back over the past two years to play in 28 games. He would profile as a lower-cost option for a Bengals team that has made a few outside efforts to improve its secondary last year.
The Bengals added a few pieces to their secondary in 2020, signing safety Vonn Bell and cornerbacks Trae Waynes and Mackensie Alexander. Waynes, however, missed the season. While the Bengals ranked 26th defensively, Cincinnati’s pass defense came in at 19th. Bell and Waynes remain under contract, while Alexander is a free agent for the second straight year. The Bengals’ $37 million-plus in cap space ranks in the top 10, with two weeks remaining until the legal tampering period.
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