Bengals Safety Responds to Pay Cut

With the player acquisition phase of the spring over and offseason workouts underway, the Cincinnati Bengals won’t be in position to make major moves. But edge rusher Trey Hendrickson’s contract extension looms, and as his holdout continues, a flurry of procedural moves could be made to make his big pay day easier to handle.

Among those options is manipulating the contracts of some underperforming veterans.

Cincinnati obliged by cutting part of safety Geno Stone’s contract.

“Stone, who was scheduled to earn $6.475 million this year, agreed to a one year $4.9 million contract, a reduction in salary of $1.575 million,” Over the Cap reported. “The Bengals guaranteed $1.5 million of the new contract, which given the Bengals history is a virtual guarantee on his entire year’s salary.”

Stone was a candidate for a pay cut because of his immense struggles in 2024. To his credit, he was durable and versatile, but his performance between the splash plays was underwhelming.

Despite generating four interceptions and 88 tackles, Stone was a replacement-level player. Stone was willing to admit that he struggled while accepting his pay cut.

“At the end of the day, I’m here and I’m going to give it my all wherever I am at," Stone told reporters. "That is something I owe them. I signed here and I want to own what I want to do for them. Honestly, I was upset with myself a lot last year. Just the way my play was early in the year. I got put in situations I really never had in my career, and that had nothing to do with anyone else. It was just me.”

Stone ranked 34th of 37 qualified safeties by Pro Football Focus’ defense grade and dead last in run defense.

With that extra cash, it’s easy to connect Cincinnati to its disgruntled edge rusher. If Stone’s biggest contribution is helping retain Hendrickson, he’ll be viewed favorably.

“Geno Stone said he was disappointed in his play last year so he understood the ask to take a pay cut but he also considered saying no,” Laurel Pfahler wrote. “Said if the Bengals are clearing cap space there’s a reason and he assumes it’s going to Trey Hendrickson. Said his cut was best for the team.”

Stone isn’t alone in needing to improve for the betterment of his unit. Locked into a starting job, he’ll cost Cincinnati less in 2025, although continued struggles could prove to be even more expensive.