Bengals 2022 Free Agency Preview -

The legal tampering period opened Monday morning – and reports of new player signings, including some by the Bengals, abounded. Most of the big news from the day, however, won’t be official until the new league year begins on Wednesday. Players on expiring contracts are free to negotiate and agree to new deals over these couple days, but signing these deals is another matter.

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Regardless, the Bengals need to move quickly if they wish to retain any players they haven’t yet agreed to. Some key contributors – like safety Jessie Bates – have already been secured for another year, but others remain in limbo. Others – as has been reported – are already gone.

As of Monday morning, here’s a complete list of 2022 Bengals set to hit the free agent market. Shown alongside each player – aside from their listed position – is the amount of snaps they played on offense, defense, and/or special teams. Players are ordered top-to-bottom by the number of snaps they contributed on offense or defense.

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by Full Press Coverage on January 21, 2023 at 12:19 pm

Bengals Pending 2022 Free Agents

G Quinton Spain – 996 offensive snaps, 77 special teams
CB Eli Apple – 979 defensive snaps, 36 special teams
TE C.J. Uzomah – 802 offensive snaps, 104 special teams
DT Larry Ogunjobi – 724 defensive snaps, 66 special teams
OT Riley Reiff – 711 offensive snaps, 53 special teams
DT B.J. Hill – 502 defensive snaps, 71 special teams
DT Josh Tupou – 410 defensive snaps, 57 special teams
CB Vernon Hargreaves III – 319 defensive snaps, 37 special teams
CB Tre Flowers – 239 defensive snaps, 54 special teams
DE Wyatt Ray – 219 defensive snaps, 69 special teams
WR Mike Thomas – 142 offensive snaps, 117 special teams
(RFA) WR Stanley Morgan – 135 offensive snaps, 312 special teams
WR Auden Tate – 115 offensive snaps, 33 special teams
QB Brandon Allen – 92 offensive snaps, 0 special teams
CB Darius Phillips – 90 defensive snaps, 129 special teams
OT Fred Johnson – 90 offensive snaps, 5 special teams
(ERFA) TE Mitchell Wilcox – 84 offensive snaps, 239 special teams
(ERFA) WR Trenton Irwin – 83 offensive snaps, 15 special teams
LB Jordan Evans – 44 defensive snaps, 101 special teams
P Kevin Huber – 1 offensive snap, 150 special teams
LS Clark Harris – 150 special teams

Analysis

Aside from the void created by the Bengals’ lack of an extension for Uzomah, several needs are evident from this list. Three of the top seven contributors are defensive tackles – Ogunjobi and Hill, especially, play the position from similar alignments. Retaining at least one of the two players was critical, and it’s unlikely a coincidence that news broke of the Bengals extending Hill minutes after the Bears reportedly agreed to terms with Ogunjobi. Tupou is a defensive tackle more in the mold of D.J. Reader – big, space-eating, big, difficult to move in the run game, and big. Whether the Bengals retain him likely depends on how much they like Tyler Shelvin, their 4th-round pick in 2021 who projects as the same type of player.

On the offensive line, the looming departures of Spain and Reiff figured to leave sizable holes in a unit that already needed veteran support. The Bengals’ reported signings of interior linemen Alex Cappa and Ted Karras might preclude them from retaining Spain, but the Reiff-sized hole at right tackle remains. There’s no reason the Bengals couldn’t re-sign Reiff to fill that hole as of now, but they might prefer their other options.

The Bengals will also need help at cornerback with Apple, Hargreaves, Flowers, and Phillips all potentially on the way out. Aside from Chidobe Awuzie and Mike Hilton, who played significant snaps for them last season, the Bengals have little else on the roster in the way of known quantities. It’s possible they like Trae Waynes as a starter – they’ve had ample time to release him and save nearly $10 million against the salary cap if they thought any less of him – but Waynes has only played five games for the club since signing with them ahead of the 2020 season between pectoral and hamstring injuries. It’s likely the Bengals sign or re-sign at least one veteran cornerback, and they could still target the position early in the draft.

– Andy Hammel is the Managing Editor for the Bengals at Full Press Coverage. Follow @Andy_Hammel