The Bengals Need Offensive Linemen
February 14th, 2022
The 2021 season is finished. In the end, one could make a reasonable case the Bengals lost the Super Bowl because their offensive line was subpar.
Quarterback Joe Burrow endured a whopping 70 sacks this season, a truly eye-popping number through 21 games.
Combine that with the Bengals having a lot of available salary cap room and the Bucs having two high-quality offensive linemen entering free agency, and Joe has to take notice.
Those Bucs are Pro Bowl center Ryan Jensen and right guard Alex Cappa, a Bucs 2018 third-round draft pick. Jensen is going to want a raise from the $10 million per year contract he just completed. Cappa, 27, is looking for his first payday and will get it somewhere.
Joe has to think top priority for the Bengals will be offensive line help. It’s obvious. And Joe assumes Cincinnati would love a guy with playoff experience and a Super Bowl ring.
The Bengals’ need help illustrate the challenge facing general manager Jason Licht in free agency, but also that you can play in February without a beastly offensive line.
February 14th, 2022 at 9:43 am
Fire sale….we’re rebuilding anyway. TB left because of the coaching and took any hope with him.
February 14th, 2022 at 9:44 am
The Rams Pass Rush was the difference against the Bucs and late in the 49’s game and the Super Bowl.
And the Pass rush is what carried the Bucs to a Championship last year.
What do you know, the Bengals were starting 2 back up o lineman, just like the Chiefs last year in the Super Bowl, it it cost them the game.
GO BUCS!!!!
February 14th, 2022 at 9:49 am
And unlike the Bucs the Bengals have @ $58 million under the cap to spend.
D. Smith is getting paid @ $19 million this season. I wonder if the Bengals would want to trade for him…
Smith is average at best and that would give us a much needed high draft pick plus it would take his bloated salary off our books.
February 14th, 2022 at 9:49 am
When has anyone heard Bruce Arians say the Bucs are rebuilding? He specifically said “reloading.”
February 14th, 2022 at 9:50 am
Cinci has a dire need for an OL, their current OL is life threatening.
They also have $57 million in available cap space, which means they can absorb both Jensen and Cappa at the blink of an eye.
February 14th, 2022 at 9:50 am
What a boring game
Both offense boring. Bengals needed a yard at end of game and threw twice in a row?
Rams defense the difference. If healthy , we would have won the whole dang thing again.
February 14th, 2022 at 9:57 am
The Bucs as you “know” them today will be a shell of themselves post free agency. The O line is done. Secondary is trash. D line only has Shaq. This team is getting weaker in the wrong spots. O- line, d-line and QB. 202w Bucs will go 7-10.
February 14th, 2022 at 10:02 am
The pass rush won that SuperBowl, and should have been co-MVP’s.
Burrow is an excellent QB, but just goes to show how a pass rush can neuter even the best QB.
Just like the Rams pass rush neutered Tom Brady.
February 14th, 2022 at 10:05 am
We can probably keep 1 of the 2….but not both….My suspicion is that we will keep Cappa for several reasons. We drafted Hainsey to make him a center.
Cheaper
Our draft pick
Younger
February 14th, 2022 at 10:05 am
Jeff said: “The D line only has Shaq.”
First of all, Barrett is a OLB, not a DL.
Secondly, I don’t call Vea, Gholston, Suh and Taco non-productive players. Three of those four, at a minimum, will be back.
February 14th, 2022 at 10:08 am
What a pleasure to have such positive minded fans!
February 14th, 2022 at 10:08 am
but also that you can play in February without a beastly offensive line. – if you have a QB that can take the hits- Rams couldn’t run the ball at all vs Bengals.
And not everyone has an Aaron Donald.
February 14th, 2022 at 10:11 am
I’d say giving up a record 10 sacks is sub-par. The Brngals will spend their off season finding O-linemen. Still doesn’t mean they will be back challenging next year.
February 14th, 2022 at 10:20 am
Flash,,,Bucs need offensive linemen too.
February 14th, 2022 at 10:21 am
German, people like Jeff, Robert, et al are not Buc fans.
February 14th, 2022 at 10:22 am
This OL was a mess before TB made them look good. Don’t over pay for them. While I think D Smith did better, I think he will be a liability again. Trade him if you can.
February 14th, 2022 at 10:24 am
@ German
That is what happens when you have been cheering for the Bucs too long…
Before Tom Brady we were the Cleveland Browns of the South averaging 5.5 wins per season for over a decade and a half.
I don’t think it is being “negative” – I call it being “realistic”.
February 14th, 2022 at 10:26 am
I would rather trade D. Smith and keep both Cappa and Jenson for the same price.
February 14th, 2022 at 10:31 am
Passing Thru … Yes the Bengals have a lot of CAP space this year ($55.8 mil using the Top-51 criteria) BUT … that’s kinda misleading for 2 reasons. First, they only have 37 players under contract. Increase that by 14 more players to get them to Top-51 number and that CAP space would go down a bunch. Secondly though, the Bengals are only taking a $9.9 mil CAP hit for their starting QB this year. Contrast that to the CAP hit that the Packers are taking for Rodgers ($46.7 mil) or that the Chiefs are taking for Mahomes ($35.8 mil) and the difference in QB costs becomes significant.
Bengals also have a reputation of being very ‘thrifty’ shall we say, which is probably the biggest reason that they have a large CAP surplus. They typically end each year with a sizable surplus (carried-over to the next year’s CAP) and they also historically haven’t spent a bunch for high-dollar free agents. That’s probably why this season is the first winning season (10-7) that they’ve had since Marvin Lewis left as their coach after the 2015 season. IOW I’m not convinced … yet … that they’ll be restocking their OLine with high-cost FAs like Jensen & Cappa.
February 14th, 2022 at 10:37 am
Yes, the Rams won that super bowl. They are the best team money can buy.
February 14th, 2022 at 10:39 am
Trade D. Smith to the highest bidder
February 14th, 2022 at 10:39 am
Defense Rules: Yes but the Bengels don’t have much in terms of pricey free agents to re-sign. In fact, they guy who takes the most expiring cap space is Eli Apple, who was so bad that the Rams should share some of that Super Bowl paycheck with him.
February 14th, 2022 at 10:42 am
The problem here is that Brady´s situation puts Licht in a very uncomfortable situation……
He needs to make difficult decisions, and is hard when you don´t know who your QB will be….The longer Brady takes the worst for the Bucs in every position in the roster……..
Kind of sucks this situation but we have to live with it……
February 14th, 2022 at 10:45 am
I’m big fan of Jensen, and I like Cappa but truth is the business side of football will likely make some personnel decisions. Between Hainsey and Stinnie we have players likely capable of filling the holes. The team needs to decide where the money gets them the most bang on this team. My guess is at least one of them isn’t back.
February 14th, 2022 at 10:57 am
Sure the Bengals need O linemen. But..A. Donald might be the best player in the entire NFL. You see he alone did something our entire Defense could not do..He literally won the SB for the Rams. Don’t tell me Defense does not win championships. They did the same thing to them Bengals that they did to us..Outstanding Defense. Congrats to them.
February 14th, 2022 at 11:02 am
@ Marine
I joined the ship during the “golden” late 90s. So I am used to suffering, too. But this bi***ing here is beyond anoying. The next suggestion of these clowns will be, that we resign from next season.
February 14th, 2022 at 11:21 am
Mike Johnson … ‘They did the same thing to them Bengals that they did to us..Outstanding Defense. Congrats to them.’
Agreed 100% Mike. Bengals played some very good defense too I thought, just not quite good enough.
February 14th, 2022 at 11:25 am
Our Online got whooped by the Rams too.
February 14th, 2022 at 11:37 am
Passing Thru … Yup, none of their players is super-expensive. And agree with you on Eli Apple. He seems to keep showing up & getting paid though (Giants, Panthers, Bengals).
One place where the Rams’ defense totally impressed me was at the end of the 1st qtr when the Bengals had 1st down on the Rams 11-yard line. Burrows threw incomplete 3 times, and they had to settle for a FG.
There was another similar situation in the 3rd qtr where the Bengals intercepted Stafford at the Rams’ 31-yd line but again had to settle for a FG. Had the Bengals punched either one of those in, MIGHT have been a 24-23 victory for the Bengals. Rams’ defense did what they needed to do in both instances.
February 14th, 2022 at 11:37 am
Let the free agents walk for compensatory draft picks, then trade D Smith 76 for draft picks before he gets exposed next season because TB12 and his quick release throws are no longer in Tampa.
February 14th, 2022 at 11:48 am
Chris@Apple Roof Cleaning Tampa Says:
February 14th, 2022 at 10:37 am
Yes, the Rams won that super bowl. They are the best team money can buy.
Yep thats right, and nothing wrong with that. They got the Lombardi to show for it.
GO BUCS!!!!
February 14th, 2022 at 11:49 am
Neither team in the Super Bowl had a very good offensive lineman line. But Tom Brady can’t get sacked 70 times either. Both QB’s in the game last night got mangled. No way Brady comes back with a weaker Oline.
February 14th, 2022 at 11:54 am
@ Proudboys
Agreed. I would like to at least keep Cappa if possible…
February 14th, 2022 at 11:54 am
Marine Buc,
Hopefully my dream of dumping Durable Donnie will come to fruition.
February 14th, 2022 at 11:56 am
If they land a couple lineman they’re are going to real dangerous for the next few years
February 14th, 2022 at 11:57 am
Defense Rules:
A couple of things struck me as interesting in that game last night. The Rams defense took over during the second half, some of that was just their physicality wearing down the overwhelmed, under-talented Cinci OLine, and I noticed that they also started shifting around Von Miller. Miller attacked from the B and C gaps, and that was too much for Cinci. At that point you’re asking the Cinci OLine to disengage guys like Donald and Floyd while stopping a speeding train like Miller. It couldn’t be done, that’s when Burrow got buried.
On that last scoring drive, Cinci gave LA the equivalent of the 405 freeway to the red zone. Cinci went from man coverage which enabled them to double Kupp, to zone, which gave Kupp incredible seams to exploit. Kupp is the best route running WR in the NFL, I have no idea why they’d do that (well I do know why, Cinci was trying to be conservative and not give up a big play, but it was a terrible decision). Then of course the drive ended with the Eli Apple Comedy Act.
February 14th, 2022 at 12:06 pm
So, will the Bengals be throwing money at Jensen or Cappa, or go for the budget option in Stinnie?
The Bucs probably should try to lock up either Cappa or Stinnie before free agency begins. Can’t afford to lose both. The Jensen situation is a little more complicated unless he wants to stay in Tampa on a slight discount and shorter contract. If they’re committed to bringing back Godwin and Carlton Davis, I can’t see them spending top money at Jensen, certainly not enough to get into a bidding war if the Bengals really want him.
Of course, this is, as usual, extremely premature and empty speculation. Kinda pointless right now.
February 14th, 2022 at 12:10 pm
Dump Donnie, move Wirfs to LT, draft a RT, let Jensen walk, start Hainsey at C, sign Stinnie and low ball Capps.
February 14th, 2022 at 12:14 pm
I am perplexed about how many people want to move the all pro right tackle we have to left tackle.
Shows how much they know nothing about sports. Players do well when they are playing the position they are most comfortable at.
February 14th, 2022 at 12:17 pm
Marpet did well moving around.
So there’s that.
LTs make top money and Wirfs deserves that.
I’m confident Wirfs can adjust.
February 14th, 2022 at 12:36 pm
@ Dooosh
Agreed. Sell D. Smith while his stock is high. TB12 made him look way better than reality. If we can trade Smith and his huge salary ($18.4 million) that would pay for Jenson and Cappa.
Plus hopefully we will get a 2nd or 3rd round pick for Smith.
February 14th, 2022 at 12:41 pm
@ TBBB
I would rather find a capable LT via free agency. Pay him one fourth of what Smith is getting and get about the same performance on the field.
Sorry – but I just believe D. Smith is highly over-rated and highly over-paid…
February 14th, 2022 at 2:32 pm
Marine Buc … ‘I would rather find a capable LT via free agency. Pay him one fourth of what Smith is getting and get about the same performance on the field.’
I know lots of folks get down on Durable Donnie, but no way we’d find a FA to play LT for a quarter of what he makes at nearly the level that he does. IMO he’s stepped up his game in these last couple of years (maybe because of Brady?). There’s a LOT to be said for keeping OLines together for multiple years. Ours played VERY well together in 2020 & 2021 me thinks.
Personally consider Donovan to be a bargain. His contract is just for 2 yrs (2021 & 2022) for $31 Mil ($15.5 mil annual average). He’s the 9th highest paid LT, and many below him are on their 1st contract. Trent Williams (San Fran) & David Bakhtiari (Green Bay) both make $23 mil annually, and neither of them won the SB either. We need to be ‘careful what we wish for’.
February 14th, 2022 at 2:40 pm
@ DR
I understand what your saying. But how much of that improvement with D. Smith should be contributed to Tom Brady releasing the ball within 2 seconds (one of the quickest in the league)…
I agree it won’t be easy to replace him for a bargain basement price but like you said before – this is a year where we might have to take a few chances…
I guess you value Smith a little more than I do. I just see him as average but being paid as a Pro-Bowler.
February 14th, 2022 at 9:21 pm
Yes, they do need OL and yes, they will. They’d be happy with one of ours.
Bucs had better stock up OL in the draft, among other things.
Kudos to the Bengals for almost beating the overrated Hollywood Rams. It is infuriating that they, like the Bucs and the 49ers, had those fools on the ropes and didn’t finish them off. All it took was a few plays, a few dropped balls, and convenient bad calls by officials favoring Hollywood. These games were as rigged as elections. (I’m still waiting for an explanation on the bogus flag on Brady. That alone could have been enough to disgust him into retirement.)
February 14th, 2022 at 10:53 pm
DoooshLaRue Says:
February 14th, 2022 at 12:10 pm
That is literally nuts. We invested all these years in seeing him develop, and he just had his best year. He’s become a damn good player. And with him and Wirfs, we have one of the best tackle combos in the league. You dump D. Smith and now you have 2 questions — how will Wirfs adjust to LT (probably ok, but not certain) and who the hell is our RT? It makes no sense to create more holes in the roster.
Maybe draft another tackle this year to train as a future starter. When it’s time to sign Wirfs to big $$$, maybe dump Smith then, and you’ve got your 2nd starting tackle answer in house, ready to go.
I just checked Spotrac, and it appears setting Smith free would mean 10 million dollar dead cap hit.