Bengals Free Agency Predictions: Outlining the path Cincinnati will take with major questions still lingering

Optimism about the Cincinnati Bengals is in short supply at the moment. Instead of signing Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Trey Hendrickson to new contracts, the prices for all of them have only gone up and one of them is seeking a trade at this very moment. 

Surely everything Joe Burrow and Bengals fans wanted to see at the onset of free agency, right?

The Bengals are in a hole right now, and they have over $40 million in salary cap space to get out of it, thought the real ones reading this know only about $30 million of it will actually be used. Here are five predictions about what's in store for Cincinnati's free agency period. 

Another push to sign Tee Higgins to a long-term contract

Technically, the Bengals have a hard deadline of July 15 to get this done, but crossing the goal line by the start of tampering has always been the firm deadline for the sake of salary cap clarity. Higgins' second franchise tag is taking up just over $26 million in cap space at the moment. A new deal will likely drop that enough to fit another starter added in free agency. 

As of this posting, I'm not confident an agreement will be reached by noon ET, but I do believe there will be an effort made. Not like that's ever given fans any comfort, though. 

Trey Hendrickson does not get traded during legal tampering 

I think the Bengals hold strong here and wait out other teams in hopes of increasing the demand for Hendrickson. They want to trade Hendrickson only for compensation they deem worthy to relinquish him from their control as he is under contract for the 2025 season. They could probably trade him right now for a late Day 2 pick. But if teams who are interested end up missing out on some of the top options available on the market, it increases their demand and potentially their offer to the Bengals.

The longer Hendrickson stays a Bengal, the more likely his willingness to come back to the negotiating table increases as well, but I still foresee a trade happening eventually. It just may not happen until it can actually be processed following the start of the new league year Wednesday afternoon.

Aggression in adding a starting guard

There's a sense that the guard market will be a prosperous one for players and a frightening one for clubs. The sooner teams enter the store and get out with their target, the cheaper it will be. This should be the Bengals' mindset with a glaring need at the position and a weak NFL Draft class on the horizon in April. They can't afford to wait until then and force an early pick if it doesn't make sense, but we have seen that unfold before at other positions.

I think the early release of Alex Cappa sets this up and you'll see a veteran agree to terms by the end of the day, whether that's Patrick Mekari of the Baltimore Ravens or perhaps Will Hernandez of the Arizona Cardinals, Cincinnati will go for a proven starter.