The Cincinnati Bengals put in some notable work near Paycor Stadium recently as part of the offseason program.
There, Bengals fans got a quick look at a chunk of their rookie class and some of the things new coaches in new places will do, such as along the defense.
Some quick thoughts on all things Bengals.
Why is Germaine Pratt still on roster?
That’s one of the biggest questions making the rounds right now. The most logical is that the Bengals are dragging their feet on a trade or cut to see if anyone will bite. But again, his production and the obviousness of his departure make it unlikely that teams trade for his $8 million cap hit. There’s a youth movement and he’s unlikely to be part of it after last season and his trade request.
Jermaine Burton
It’s nice to hear that Jermaine Burton is on an upswing. But given how disastrous things were for the rookie last year on and off the field, there was really only one way to go besides being off the roster. If he’s starting to put it together while the two superstars in front of him just got big-money extensions, it’s impressive for him on a personal level, though.
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The Trey Hendrickson situation…
…is understandable. Hendrickson’s played the holdout/retirement game for a few offseasons in a row now. He recently signed a one-year deal. The team says it wants to give him a raise. And he’s not going to sit out at the age of 30, eat fines in the summer and game checks while tanking his free-agent value. The Bengals very rarely deserve the benefit of the doubt, but this one feels like agent and player error. All signs still point to something getting done.
The Shemar Stewart situation…
…is completely unacceptable. It doesn’t matter what the hiccup is. The small details in a first-round pick’s contract in the era of a rookie wage scale is largely meaningless. Just get him signed. It’s silly he’s not participating when most first-rounders without deals are around the NFL, sure. But don’t draft a project player at a critical need, then fail to get him on the field developing as soon as possible so the front office can “win” a contract standoff. Both sides are losing right now.
Contract shuffling
It’s odd to see the Bengals changing up the contracts on guys like Geno Stone and Cordell Volson. They feel like take a pay cut or get cut situations, which is fine, everyone agrees they underperformed last year. But if the team isn’t going to do anything with the savings…what’s the point? If nothing else, the Bengals had a rep with free agents that they honor contracts no matter what. Now, they’re doing performance-based pay cuts? It’s especially weird at safety. They didn’t sign or draft one to compete. So if Stone said no, what then? Unless there’s some master plan behind the scenes to shift money to Hendrickson or something, it feels like odd timing while trying to “win” more contracts.
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