[FREE] The Bengals Free Agents That Make Sense
Breaking down the notable Bengals free agents that do and do not make sense for the Titans.
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With Brian Callahan now reportedly set to become the next Titans’ head coach — I only say reportedly because there’s been no official confirmation from the team — the first step has now been taken towards building this team back into a contender that will be respected.
Next, it’ll be Callahan’s job to fill out a staff, probably the most important next step in the post hiring process. We already have some names listed as potential candidates, but until these hirings are official, there’s no use in perusing through names with ties and connections to Callahan himself.
So now we move on to the next step — not the literal next step, but the next step fans usually jump to — which is talent acquisition. Or in other words, fixing this hell hole of a roster that needs help in multiple key spots.
That’ll obviously be done during free agency and the draft, but those events are a couple months away at the earliest, so that’ll have to wait…..or will it.
You know I kinda don’t feel like waiting until March to start seriously jotting down potential player acquisitions, because who wants to wait until then to start fantasizing about something that very well won’t happen, but could also happen at the same time?
(I’m being fueled by the glorious drug known as delusion).
So to avoid passing time, let’s do a little exercise. We’re going to discuss upcoming Cincinnati Bengals free agents, assess their potential fit with the Titans, and conclude which ones could fit the Titans and if they should pursue them or not.
Let’s start with the ones that should fit the Titans moving forward.
The Ones That Fit
Tee Higgins
This is the most obvious one and probably the one that makes the most sense. Higgins has been the Robin to Jamarr Chase’s Batman for years in Cincinnati, creating one of the more dominant WR tandems in all of football while also putting up WR1 worthy numbers during the process.
The problem for Cincinnati though, is that Higgins is set to hit the market and should command some hefty dollars…if he does in fact make it to the market.
There’s still the option of tagging him in Cincy’s POV, which is probably the likeliest course of action. The projected tag number for receivers for 2024 — according to OverTheCap — is $21.6M, a number the Bengals probably wouldn’t be mad at having to pay for one more year of Higgins at least.
But there’s always the fleeting possibility of Cincinnati possibly moving on from him (via trade of course) if they believe investing in Higgins could prevent them from doing the same with Chase, plus maintaining healthy cap flexibility for other spots down the line.
Either way, I don’t expect the Bengals to sign Higgins long term, unless they have a plan to accommodate Chase, cap flexibility, and more in the future.
Spotrac currently has Higgins’ market value at around $18M AAS (average annual salary), which falls in line with the other “Robin” receivers that have gotten paid over the last few years.
Chris Godwin got $20M in 2022, same with Mike Willliams in 2022, Diontae Johnson got around $18M in 2022 as well. Maybe Higgins commands more, but maybe around $20M-$21M seems fair for a WR1 “B”.
Moving past financials, Higgins’ fit in Tennessee would be seamless. He’d be able to instantly step into a true WR1 role in Tennessee, teaming with DeAndre Hopkins to make an exciting WR duo in 2024 at the very least.
Plus there’s the Callahan connection, as well as the home state connection as well, with Higgins’ home town being Oak Ridge, TN which is about 30 minutes away from Knoxville for all the people that didn’t know.
All in all, this would be the best Bengals —> Titans fit, although there’s one more Bengals to Titans fit that makes a good amount of sense as well.
Tyler Boyd
Boyd’s fit with the Titans is more clearer than Higgins, simply due to the fact that the monetary and asset roadblocks won’t be nearly as strenuous.
Boyd has remained Cincy’s WR3 slot specialist ever since Higgins and Chase rose onto the scene. He’s proven to be valuable in that role too, bringing some experience and stability to the table.
If the Titans decided to bring Boyd in, there wouldn’t be much in the way of pushback against the move.
The only nag is the unknown regarding his ability to bring a much needed element of dynamism to a receiving group that needs it right now. But if you can snag him for around $7M-$8M a year or even less, then the move makes a whole lot of sense.
Plus when you add in the fact that there’s not going to be much in the way of competition from the Bengals to re-sign him, then the idea only grows more in terms of strength.
I for one wouldn’t hate the move, what about you?
Chidobe Awuzie
The Titans will be in need of corner help this off-season and Awuzie could be a solution.
Awuzie was signed by the Bengals a few years ago and at first his signing looked to be a hit. But he tore his ACL in 2022 and hasn’t been the same player since.
However, that doesn’t mean he’s been outright bad either.
Awuzie can still be a serviceable boundary corner, especially for a team that needs secondary help, like the Titans. But maybe it might not be worth it, considering the team has needs elsewhere, and the fact that giving Awuzie a decent amount of money might be worse than bringing back Sean Murphy-Bunting for cheap.
Awuzie’s market might not develop to the point he’ll command a decent amount of money, but it’s still possible if teams view his 2023 season as more of a soft rebound than a deadset regression.
This’ll just have to be a situation that needs to be watched once free agency begins.
Jonah Williams
Before you yell at me, I only put Williams’ name down because the Titans have a need at tackle.
That’s it.
In no way should the Titans think about throwing money at Williams, who has been one of the worst tackles in the league in terms of giving up sacks.
This is purely fit and positional need based, nothing more.
The Notable One That Doesn’t fit
D.J. Reader
Reader would be a fit if the Titans didn’t have Jeffery Simmons and if he wasn’t coming off a serious quad injury that ended his season early.
He’s known as a great run defender, but as mentioned above, injury questions could limit his impact even if he gets healthy again.
It’s a no here.
Overview
This upcoming class of Bengals free agents isn’t that impressive.
There’s some notable names of course, but other names like Drew Sample, Tanner Hudson, Akeem Davis-Gaither, and Cody Ford don’t really fit the Titans due to skill level, lack of spots at their position, or their use not being the best.
At the end of the day, we know the Titans’ lottery ticket will be Higgins, and their safe pick could be Boyd. But we’ll have to wait to see if fortune favors Tennessee.
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