Dec 28, 2025; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle T.J. Slaton Jr. (98) and linebacker Demetrius Knight Jr. (44) tackle Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride (85) during the second half at Paycor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

MAJOR Needs Remain For Bengals To Address During 2026 Offseason

Originally posted on Cincinnati Bengals on SI
By Russell Heltman | Last updated Mar 18, 2026 12:24 PM ET

The Bengals addressed a few major needs on defense to start free agency last week, but a ton of roster work remains if they aren't going to be relying on defensive hopes and prayers this coming season.

Pro Football Focus's Dalton Wasserman listed the top needs remaining for Cincinnati to address , with linebacker, defensive tackle, and safety still in full focus. The latter two of those three got boosts from Bryan Cook and Jonathan Allen, but are still weak depth spots.

Major Needs Remain

Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Cincinnati needs to find a linebacker who can play off of Demetrius Knight Jr. and Barrett Carter at the line of scrimmage.

"The Bengals have yet to add to a linebacker unit that ranked last in the NFL in PFF grade in 2025," Wasserman wrote. "Second-year players Demetrius Knight Jr. and Barrett Carter will likely get plenty of reps to prove themselves, but Cincinnati needs to be on the lookout for additional talent by any means necessary.

"Defensive tackle and safety will also be areas of focus in Cincinnati. The front office signed interior defender Jonathan Allen, who has managed 30 or more quarterback pressures in seven of his nine NFL seasons, but the team could still opt to search for run-defense help in the draft. And while Bryan Cook is locked into one starting safety spot, we could see competition brought in alongside Jordan Battle."

According to Over The Cap, Cincinnati has $22.1 million in cap space to work with for salving these hot spots. That could be a lot closer to $30 or $35 million if they would just stop loading up the Year 1 salary cap hits for their big-money deals.

Seemingly every year, they field a worse team than they could've had if they just spread the cap hits out over multiple seasons, or used void years to push those cap dings even further down the line. It's mind-boggling in a league where the salary cap has been jumping up roughly $20 million every year since the COVID-19 pandemic; increasing by nearly $100 million since 2022, when it was set at $208.2 million.

The Bengals must think another global pandemic is on the horizon that will disrupt the league's upward financial rocket shot.

Check out the full needs list from Wasserman here.

This article first appeared on Cincinnati Bengals on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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