{"id":748959,"date":"2026-02-13T09:58:35","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T09:58:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/748959\/"},"modified":"2026-02-13T09:58:35","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T09:58:35","slug":"3-sneaky-good-nfl-free-agents-bengals-must-sign-in-2026-offseason","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/748959\/","title":{"rendered":"3 sneaky good NFL free agents Bengals must sign in 2026 offseason"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Cincinnati Bengals<\/a> had another disappointing season in 2025. Cincinnati’s season went down the drain after Joe Burrow’s turf toe injury<\/a> during Week 3. Once again, the Bengals looked like a team that needs Burrow playing at an elite level. Otherwise, they have absolutely no shot at winning games.<\/p>\n

Cincinnati’s front office should feel plenty of motivation to fix the situation this offseason. Especially while Burrow, Ja’marr Chase, and Tee Higgins are all still in their primes.<\/p>\n

The Bengals need to focus on fixing their defense before the 2026 season. Cincinnati’s defense allowed 380.9 yards per game<\/a> during the regular season, which ranked 31st in the NFL. Only the Commanders were worse.<\/p>\n

Cincinnati enters the offseason with $54.50 million in cap space<\/a>. That should leave the Bengals with enough budget to to add a few impact players on defense. But they may not be brand names.<\/p>\n

Which players should Cincinnati go after during free agency?<\/p>\n

Below we will explore three sneaky good free agents who the Bengals should considering signing this offseason.<\/p>\n

Bengals should add A.J. Epenesa to solidify EDGE after Trey Hendrickson\"CincinnatiKatie Stratman-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The Bengals have likely seen the last of Trey Hendrickson.<\/p>\n

Even if Cincinnati decides to tag and trade Hendrickson<\/a> (which I think would be a mistake), they’ll still need to replace his production.<\/p>\n

To make matters worse, Cincinnati is also set to lose Joseph Ossai and Cam Sample to free agency. That leaves the Bengals with a surprisingly big need at EDGE this offseason.<\/p>\n

But Cincinnati does not need to go out and land a big fish in free agency. Instead, I think they can get by adding a solid contributor. That is, as long as they’re willing to draft another edge rusher<\/a> in the 2026 NFL Draft.<\/p>\n

Epenesa could be the perfect addition for the Bengals.<\/p>\n

The six-year pro has been a consistent contributor in Buffalo. He has plenty of tape that shows he can both set an edge in the run game and get after the quarterback.<\/p>\n

Epenesa is not an elite edge rusher, but he would significantly raise the floor for Cincinnati’s production from the position.<\/p>\n

Spotrac estimates that Epenesa could land $6.4 million on a new contract<\/a>. I think signing him to a two-year, $13 million contract would be a sound investment.<\/p>\n

Epenesa would join Shemar Stewart and Myles Murphy as Cincinnati’s primary edge rushers.<\/p>\n

While that is not an awesome group, it should keep the Bengals from feeling pressured into selecting another first-round edge rusher no matter what.<\/p>\n

Should the Bengals reunite with D.J. Reader?<\/p>\n

Perhaps the Bengals could reunite with a familiar face to round out their defensive line.<\/p>\n

Reader spent four seasons in Cincinnati after playing his rookie contract in Houston. He was a mainstay on Cincinnati’s defensive line during their Super Bowl run back in 2021.<\/p>\n

Reader is not the dominant force he once was. But he is a stout run defender who could also be a great mentor to some of the team’s younger defensive players.<\/p>\n

In an ideal situation, Reader would only come on the field on early downs to help clog up running lanes. He does not have much juice as a pass rusher, especially in his early 30s.<\/p>\n

Spotrac estimates Reader’s market value at $3.9 million per season<\/a>. That’s a great price if Cincinnati gets him on a one-year contract, and a defendable move for a two-year deal.<\/p>\n

This is another move that isn’t flashy but that could certainly pay dividends for Cincinnati during the fall.<\/p>\n

Tony Adams could be a solid replacement for Geno Stone\"NewVincent Carchietta-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The Bengals are also set to lose some key contributors in their secondary.<\/p>\n

Both Geno Stone and Cam Taylor-Britt look destined to test free agency and receive raises by signing elsewhere.<\/p>\n

I think replacing Stone is one of the most important holes that Cincinnati needs to fill this offseason. Thankfully, I think Tony Adams is the perfect replacement.<\/p>\n

Adams is a talented free safety who could thrive in a change of scenery. He flashed some great play early in his career, starting 15 games and logging three interceptions back in 2023.<\/p>\n

I don’t think there’s much to read into Adams play well, but not great, in 2024 and 2025. His situation in New York was simply not conducive to success.<\/p>\n

Adams did suffer a season-ending groin injury back in December. If the Bengals do pursue him, they should do so with the understanding that he may not start in Week 1.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, it may all come down to price and contract structure with Adams.<\/p>\n

Spotrac lists his market value at $6.5 million per season<\/a>. That makes a three-year, $20 million contract a likely starting point for negotiations with the 27-year-old safety.<\/p>\n

Cincinnati could also consider adding a veteran like Jimmie Ward at free safety as a one-year patch.<\/p>\n

Personally, I prefer the long-term investment in a talented, and younger, player like Adams.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Cincinnati Bengals had another disappointing season in 2025. Cincinnati’s season went down the drain after Joe Burrow’s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":748960,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2053],"tags":[228,227,256,2296,18731,7,6,18732,2592],"class_list":{"0":"post-748959","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cincinnati-bengals","8":"tag-bengals","9":"tag-cincinnati","10":"tag-cincinnati-bengals","11":"tag-cincinnatibengals","12":"tag-editorials","13":"tag-football","14":"tag-nfl","15":"tag-nfl-editorials","16":"tag-nfl-free-agency"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116062737402640431","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/748959","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=748959"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/748959\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/748960"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=748959"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=748959"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=748959"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}