There weren’t many victories experienced for the Cincinnati Bengals in 2025, but two of their newer players did earn a little bit of extra cash.

Tight end Noah Fant and defensive tackle T.J. Slaton Jr. were the only Bengals players to successfully earn contract incentives during the season. Fant caught three touchdown passes to trigger a $250,000 incentive in his one-year, $2.750 million deal. Slaton played 53.4% of the defense’s snaps for Cincinnati, which confirmed he will earn an additional $500,000 in his two-year, $14.1 million deal.

Fant hauled in 34 receptions in the 15 games he played in, but reached three TDs all the way back in Week 9. He needed another three to earn an additional $250,000. Slaton needed to keep playing the majority of the time when the Bengals were on defense throughout the entire season.

Both players have a little extra dough in their bank accounts heading into the offseason, but they may be looking for their next paychecks outside of Cincinnati.

Bengals have decisions to make with Noah Fant, T.J. Slaton Jr.

Free agency isn’t for another two months, but that’s when the Bengals will need to figure out if Fant and Slaton make sense for their 2026 roster.

Fant is a free agent, and while the 34 receptions and three scores were nice, his three fumbles returned for touchdowns were equally impactful in the negative sense. He may not be too costly to re-sign, but the club may look in another direction at a position which typically faces year-to-year turnover. TEs Mike Gesicki and Drew Sample are each under contract in 2026, and they play the most snaps for the offense at that spot.

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Slaton is a different case as he’s signed through 2026, but Cincinnati can easily get out of his contract by releasing him. The Bengals would save $6.41 million in salary cap space while only incurring $2.5 million in dead money.

No other starter on the team has a contract that protects him less in terms of cap savings relative to cap figure. It makes Slaton the most likely cap casualty on the roster according to Over The Cap.

Cincinnati would be justified to move on from Slaton if an affordable upgrade presented itself. The Bengals will be looking to bolster their defensive line in the coming months, specifically for pass-rushers, but there isn’t a nose tackle on the roster trusted to replace Slaton immediately.

Fant will be entertaining other offers, and Slaton will be awaiting if he has to do the same.

Related: Bengals’ updated list of impending free agents with 2026 offseason already underway

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This story was originally published by A to Z Sports on Jan 12, 2026, where it first appeared in the NFL section. Add A to Z Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.