Offseason Analysis: Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals are such a mess—that’s what I said when I previewed them before last season, and nothing has changed. 

Strike that, they are even more of a mess. 

At least you figured they’d be fine on offense last year.  Now they have a QB (Carson Palmer) coming off an injury, their rushing attack is a mess, and their wide receivers still don’t want to play for them. 

Cedric Benson looked great down the stretch, but he’s an unrestricted free agent.  I’m not convinced he’s a running back you can depend on for a full season, especially in a losing environment.  Chris Perry is also a free agent, and he’s never really lived up to the hype. 

I see little chance T.J. Houshmandzadeh sticks around.  Chad Ocho Cinco has been quiet (nice, huh?), but you know it’s only a matter of time before he gets his name in the papers.  Chris Henry has to avoid getting arrested in the offseason or he’ll sit out a whole year. 

In case you’ve been under a rock, the Bungles are back.

John Thornton and Kyries Hebert are the biggest free agents on defense. 

The plan for the Bengals will be to figure out who’s running the ball and who’s catching the ball next year.  Good luck with that.

KFFL Free Agent Tracker:

Pos	Player Name	FA Status	Previous Team	Current Team
QB	Ryan Fitzpatrick	UFA	Cincinnati Bengals	Free Agent
RB	Cedric Benson	UFA	Cincinnati Bengals	Free Agent
RB	DeDe Dorsey	RFA	Cincinnati Bengals	Free Agent
RB	Chris Perry	RFA	Cincinnati Bengals	Free Agent
RB	Quincy Wilson	UFA	Cincinnati Bengals	Free Agent
FB	Daniel Coats	ERFA	Cincinnati Bengals	Free Agent
WR	T.J. Houshmandzadeh	UFA	Cincinnati Bengals	Free Agent
PK	Shayne Graham	UFA	Cincinnati Bengals	Free Agent
DL	John Thornton	UFA	Cincinnati Bengals	Free Agent
DL	Jimmy Verdon	RFA	Cincinnati Bengals	Free Agent
CB	Brandon Williams	UFA	Cincinnati Bengals	Free Agent
SS	Kyries Hebert	UFA	Cincinnati Bengals	Free Agent
SS	Ethan Kilmer	Signed	Cincinnati Bengals	Miami Dolphins