Bengals gon' Bungal

By: Josh Frey-Sam

I’m not a fan of the Cincinnati Bengals signing Tee Higgins to an extension.

The Bengals gave him a four-year, $115M deal earlier this week, locking in their big three — along with Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase — for the foreseeable future.

I think that money should’ve gone to another big-time free agent, preferably someone on the defensive side of the ball or the offensive line.

It amazes me that this franchise hasn’t learned from its mistakes.

In case you forgot, Burrow has won Comeback Player of the Year twice in his first five seasons because of injuries, and was once thought to be on a career trajectory similar to Andrew Luck.

A lot of that can be blamed on the offensive line's play. Burrow was sacked 48 times last season, the 12th most of any quarterback but an improvement by two from 2023-24.

That number was 44 (13th) in 2022-23 and an eye-watering 55, the third-most, in 2021-22.

I projected Alabama guard Tyler Booker to the Bengals in my first mock after they released Alex Cappa. I still think that’s a possibility, but I also think they might be torn between OL and EDGE depending on who’s available on draft night.

We got to Tee’s signing because the Bengals saved some money by letting go of some beloved but expensive pieces.

EDGE Sam Hubbard was one of them. His departure made sense. The team had to choose between him and their best pass rusher, Trey Hendrickson, who still could be on his way out the door via trade.

Here’s the problem, though: more than one-third of the Bengals’ cap space is occupied by Higgins, Chase and Burrow now. That can limit their ability to build the defence, even with the salary cap increasing.

Can they continue to score points like they did last season? Maybe.

But the Bengals were one of the worst defences by every measure last season and did little to improve on that side of the ball because they were focused on re-upping their receivers.

They only had 36 sacks last season, and 17.5 of those came from Hendrickson.

What’s funny is they made the Super Bowl three years ago because of a defence that got hot at the right time. Why aren’t you doing everything in your power to replicate that?

And I get that Burrow was banging the table to bring Higgins back, but I beg someone to find the last time a Super Bowl-winning team was stacked at QB and WR but had offensive and defensive lines that were viewed as below-average.

Spoiler: it doesn’t exist.

At this point, the path to success for the Bengals is through the draft because they whiffed on free agency. They desperately need to hit on a protector for Burrow and someone who can get after the quarterback.

Right now they’re relying on breakout seasons from RT Amarius Mims and EDGE rushers Myles Murphy and Joseph Ossai, while hoping others punch above their weight at several other positions.

And don’t rely on another 17.5 sacks from Hendrickson. He has peaked as a player, and while he could still be very productive, expecting him to be one of the best pass-rushers for a third straight season is just foolish.

Are the Bengals serious about winning a championship? Doesn’t seem like it. This will be great for fantasy football, but, as it stands, this is a team that will need to win in a track meet every week again, and that just never works out in your favour.

Try to find some gems on defence in later rounds, but protect your quarterback first, man.

I’d hate to see Burrow in the running for a third Comeback Player of the Year in 2026.

Thanks for reading and, as always, have a great day.

Josh