Cincinnati Bengals Offseason Grade: Joe Burrow Wins, the Defense Loses
Ja'Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins Get Paid — But at What Cost?
The Cincinnati Bengals’ offseason has been, in a lot of ways, a microcosm for how the organization has operated since time immemorial.
Plenty of star power, some big bets, but how Bengals ownership and the front office have treated one of the most dominant players on the roster and arguably its brightest defensive star underscores this franchise’s inability, reluctance, disinterest in, struggles winning at the highest level.
There is little question that star quarterback Joe Burrow was the biggest winner for the Bengals this offseason.
Continuity on offense should put the Bengals in position to start the 2025 campaign mirroring how 2024 ended, with five straight wins. That is, if Cincinnati can finally figure out that the season actually starts in September …
What I Liked About What the Bengals Have Done
Finding a way to ensure Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins are in a Bengals uniform and catching passes from Burrow for at least the next four years sets the stage for Cincinnati to maximize the life of their star quarterback’s second contract and take multiple bites at the Super Bowl apple in the AFC.
It almost doesn’t matter that Chase and Higgins will collect a combined $152.9 million guaranteed, given their outsized impact on Burrow’s trajectory and how the Bengals win.
Cincinnati spent most of free agency taking care of their own, bringing back the likes of tight end Mike Gesicki, tackle Cody Ford, ascending defensive tackle B.J. Hill, and edge rusher Joseph Ossai, before loading up on defense in the NFL Draft.
New defensive coordinator Al Golden arrives fresh off a run to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game, with the chance to mold freakish athlete Shemar Stewart, whose production comes nowhere close to matching his off-the-charts traits.
Golden’s arrival, combined with Cincinnati hoping to set Stewart loose chasing down opposing quarterbacks, could have a major impact on bolstering a defense that allowed 25.5 points per game last season, while finishing 25th in total defense.
The Bengals are hoping a new voice at the top, Stewart’s elite speed and explosive first step, and a course change schematically will be the magic combination to rediscover balance and return to the postseason.
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What Worries Me About the Bengals Offseason and 2025 Outlook
Call me a cynic, but it just doesn’t seem like a great idea to alienate your most prolific pass rusher and a centerpiece of a defense that’s in the early stages of a rebuild.
The contract standoff between the Bengals and Trey Hendrickson feels wholly unnecessary, given that Cincinnati currently has upwards of $27.7 million in cap space this season, the ninth-most spending flexibility in the league next offseason, at $68.8 million, and a projected $214.3 million in cap space in 2027. And yet, Hendrickson apparently can’t get a phone call, a text message, or let alone a FaceTime session with Bengals coaches this offseason, with Cincinnati wholly noncommittal about signing him to an extension.
Hendrickson, 30, tied a career-high 17.5 sacks in 2024, which he originally set the prior season. He’s a respected locker room voice and the kind of player Golden can build a defense around. But, the Bengals seemingly have cut off contract negotiations and didn’t trade him leading up to the draft.
Money most certainly isn’t an issue here, and drafting Stewart could be an insurance policy on moving off Hendrickson, but their complementary traits in a perfect world would form the kind of duo capable of hunting down Patrick Mahomes’ Chiefs, Josh Allen’s Bills, and Lamar Jackson’s Ravens in a resurgent run at the franchise’s first Lombardi.
This is bad business, all around, by the Bengals.
If Hendrickson is on the field in Cincinnati Week 1, it’s a huge win for all parties involved. But, drafting Stewart signals turning the page on a defense that was the Bengals’ Achilles heel, all while simultaneously investing abundant resources in an offense that is already among the league’s most prolific.
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This week, teams across the NFL are preparing to begin OTAs, and the page is officially turning from the roster-building offseason to the preparations for the 2025 campaign ahead.
Cincinnati Offseason Grade: B
Signing Chase and Higgins to record-setting contracts is a colossal deal, especially given how the Bengals traditionally operate, and what matters most for Burrow and the offense. So, Cincinnati gets high marks for stepping out of character and getting both of those deals done, more than satisfying all parties involved.
However, how the organization is treating Hendrickson doesn’t just have the potential to make an already struggling defense worse, but it could alienate other star players based on how the franchise handles its A-minus stars.
Adding linebacker Oren Burks, who brings Super Bowl experience and is coming off a 41-tackle season is a solid upgrade along the front-seven for Golden, but so much of what the Bengals are banking on to lift the defense hinges on Stewart and three other rookies hitting the ground running and making an instant impact in a conference that’s loaded with offensive firepower.
Stewart ran the 40-yard dash in a blazing 4.59 seconds at 6-foot-5 and 267 pounds, but posted just 4.5 sacks across three seasons at Texas A&M. Therein lies the gamble for the Bengals, especially if they move off Hendrickson and his track record of production.
Cincinnati made huge strides in solidifying the offense. But unless the Bengals resolve the Hendrickson situation and hit on their defensive rookies, this could be another season of offensive fireworks spoiled by defensive breakdowns — and another wasted year of Joe Burrow’s prime.
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