Having made a notable addition on the backend by agreeing to a deal with Geno Stone, the Bengals will remove a recent arrival from the equation. Cincinnati plans to release safety Nick Scott, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. The move is now official, per a team announcement.
Scott spent the course of his rookie contract with the Rams, a tenure that concluded with the team’s Super Bowl win over the Bengals. That landed him a three-year, $12M agreement with Cincinnati last offseason. After just one year in the Queen City, however, the 28-year-old will once again hit the open market.
Scott is due $3.3M in 2024, with a cap hit of $1M higher. Cutting him immediately would result in $2.3M in cap savings against a dead money charge of $2M. Designating him a post-June 1 release would shift $1M from dead money to cap space, but the Bengals would not see the savings until June 2. In any event, Stone’s arrival suggested Scott could be on the way out this offseason.
The latter started 10 games in 2023, but by November he had lost his first-team spot to Jordan Battle. Scott racked up 57 tackles and a fumble recovery, but he surrendered a passer rating of 99.6 in coverage. Breakdowns in the secondary were a common issue for Cincinnati last year, influencing the decision to bring in Stone at the outset of the negotiating window. The former Ravens draftee secured $15M on a two-year deal.
Battle is still on his rookie contract for three more seasons, and he and Stone could serve as full-time starters in 2024. Former first-rounder Dax Hill is also in the fold, although questions have been raised about where he best fits in the secondary. In the latter's case, Cincinnati will have decisions to make, while Scott will become a late entrant to a crowded free agent safety class.
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