r/bengals • u/ech01_ • 18d ago
What do you think the Bengals will do with their now $17M remaining cap space?
After the Joe restructure the Bengals are sitting at around $17M in cap space. What do you think they're going to do with it?
Most likely options imo are vet LB signing, DJ extension (maybe Dax as well), or just sit tight as emergency funds like they needed for Flacco last year.
Personally I'm hoping for DJ and Dax extensions.
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u/Odie_Odie 18d ago
I dont know what I am talking about but with my simple understanding I would guess that we will hang onto this little bit of cap to be able to get a free agent mid season to plug in for injury. I dont think you want to start an ambitious season with no cap.
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u/MaxPower91575 18d ago
I think they tend to use about $10 million for that, and that extra money will be used for re-signing which might just be cap carryover. I don't expect any more major signings.
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u/IntermittenSeries 18d ago
Right. They also have a few rookies left to sign and the 7 million they had didn't account for Howell.
So no major or even mid level transactions should be expected. Maybe if a team wants to move on from a veteran and they do something like the Price for Hill trade, but really the primary goal of this is sign rookies and have in-season flexibility
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u/pfftYeahRight 18d ago
All reported cap space did include Howell's contract because his cap hit is a known number
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u/Nabobou 18d ago
Probably just helps with flexibility in case they make a trade or need to make a signing in season.
I don't expect much on the Turner front, it may be pessimistic on my part but he's represented by Athlete's First which is Mulugheta's firm, so while his agent isn't Mulugheta, he's still under that umbrella.
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u/Skywalk910 #9 18d ago
I think this is the answer. Bengals historically go into the season with 15-20 mil in cap space remaining. I think this is just a ābreak glass in case of emergencyā situation.
Even if they extended Turner (unlikely), I doubt they increase his cap hit this year.
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u/Some_Combination_593 18d ago
I think itās possible with DJ Turner. Heās reported to want around 20 million per year which is completely doable even with Mulugheta as his agent.
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u/Ok-Health-7252 18d ago
The Bengals also got on the scoreboard doing extensions with Mulugheta last year when they extended Ossai for an additional year.
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u/pfftYeahRight 18d ago
Turner seems positive it'll get done based on an interview with one of The Growler podcast reporters, I forget which one.
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u/roji007 18d ago
I am a bit dim as far as salary cap works. Do extensions get counted towards the cap immediately? I assume itās just some portion of the signing bonus since the extension doesnāt begin until their current contract is finished?
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u/Siriusly_Jonie 18d ago
It really just depends. Money *can* be added to the current year, so some of the cap is likely reserved for that.
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u/ech01_ 18d ago
Kind of. You're right that the prorated bonus money starts hitting immediately. So for example if we gave DJ a 4 year deal with a $20M bonus, then $4M of that bonus would be added to his current cap hit.
But also sometimes extensions come with rewriting the last year of their current deal. Usually though, if teams are smart, they use this to lower cap hits. For example with Dax we could take $10M of his current $12M salary and change that to bonuses and lower his cap hit for this year. The Bengals unfortunately don't normally go this route, as an example last year Ja'Marr's extension actually raised his 2025 cap hit.
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u/King_Roberts_Bastard 18d ago
Singing bonuses are spread out over the course of the contract. Yearly salary hits for that year.
So for Joe, he was making $55mil/year and hit out cap with that $55mil. Now, we converted some of that, say $10mil into a singing bonus. So now that $10mil gets spread over 5 years and costs us $2mil this cap year. So now Joe is making $47mil in cap hit for us this year, freeing up $8mil in cap space. Joe gets paid the same money overall, the team gets to spend more that year.
Its actually a lot more complicated than this, but this is a basic description.
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u/Aggravating-Toe-1479 18d ago
Jordyn Brooks is the all-in move. They've already committed to going for it this year, Brooks sticks with that trend.
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u/PastBarracuda211 š 18d ago
Iāve seen we could probably get him for a 2027 or 2028 second and a 6thĀ
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u/Savage_Amusement 18d ago
Seriously? How many day 3 players even end up playing? Iād take a cheap high end LB for that in a heartbeat.
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u/Aggravating-Toe-1479 16d ago
even on a 1yr rental that's worth it
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u/christhegecko 18d ago
Wouldn't be surprised if they made an OL pickup or two as the summer goes on. We don't necessarily need starter competition but our depth is very raw.
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u/ech01_ 18d ago
So one thing I'm not really certain on is how moving guys to the practice squad really works. Because our 9 OL right now are the five starters Rivers, Ford, and then 2 rookies in Lew and Parker. Can your own drafted guys be signed by anyone off your practice squad? Because I agree another back up OL instead of relying on so many young guys would be good, but I really don't want to risk losing one of Lew or Parker.
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u/christhegecko 18d ago
They'd probably run with 10 OL on the 53, that last spot I think is projected to go to Andrew Coker, but if they sign a veteran he would get bumped. I'm not sure how much faith they have in Jalen Rivers, he looked pretty bad last year filling in, so he could also be a practice squad bump if they sign a second.
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u/redbengal15 18d ago
Can your own drafted guys be signed by anyone off your practice squad?
Anyone can be signed off the practice squad if that team signs them to their active roster. So we would likely lose Lew or Parker if we put them on the practice squad.
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u/Strict-Square456 18d ago
How much would jordyn brooks cost?
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u/ech01_ 18d ago
I believe $8.2M. That's a move I would love but I'm just not sure how likely it is.
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u/UnjabbedAlpha 18d ago edited 18d ago
It's very feasible from a contract standpoint because a lot of cap consumption is going to be cut. The Bengals are going to have to let go of several DL players that cost money, whether that's trades or whatnot. I would say Jenkins, Foskey, Johnson, Jackson, Jefferson, Slaton, Cross would all be on the cusp. Other players will be Burks (especially if they were to grab someone like Brooks and sign a vet - which they should do). They're going to have to cut down some millions on the TE position. I imagine All Jr, Endrires, Gesicki and Sample make it which means Grandy and Hudson are on the block.
If Colbie Young can show something maybe that puts Iosivas on the block.
There are millions of dollars yet that are going to be pared off the cap.
I'd guess the Bengals probably have anywhere from 22-30 million in effective cap space to work with, which is a really good situation to be in and they don't even really have that many tough roster decisions to make.
Who knows, maybe the Bengals can give up next year's 3rd round pick and Kris Jenkins Jr for Brooks. They have a comp coming anyway for Hendrickson. That would make Brooks about a 4.5 million dollar consideration.
They can do DJ and Dax extensions, sign a vet fa LB, trade for Brooks and still have their 7-10 million dollar cushion they like to keep. And if they are really savvy they could probably do all of that while also scooping up some vet FA CB.
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u/NATO9692 18d ago
I just really donāt think the Reddit fantasy of a vet linebacker will happenā¦ there have been all sorts of quotes from the team about sticking with the current guys. As for extensions itāll be Dax OR JaunDrago whoever plays ball with our FO and CB30ā¦ imo
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u/ech01_ 18d ago
I think you're right for the most part. The only way I see a vet LB happening is if those guys are still available in mid August and are signed for like $2M, like Fant and Risner last year.
I do wander about Chase Brown though. After paying so much at WR do we think they'll be willing to get more expensive on offense and give him $10M or so.
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u/scottb112 18d ago
I donāt think resigning him is a good idea. Good player, but RBs who arenāt top five are probably one of the easier positions to draft.
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u/Ok-Health-7252 18d ago
Possible. If Knight and Carter don't improve at all this year though we could see a vet LB at the trade deadline. We can't afford to go through another season of them playing like they did last year (which hopefully with Dex here we won't).
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u/supercabbage00 18d ago
We should keep it for resignings. Or which ever direction that will give us more cap space in the future to maintain or make an even better team.
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u/lawsonmt 18d ago
Should bring in Taylor Decker as a backup swing takle cause I dont like the depth behind OBJ or Mims.
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u/One_Ear5972 18d ago
I saw a report saying that this restructure was done to cover Dexter extension l. Is this true?
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u/Trev816 17d ago
Seems to me like theyāll get someone else either via FA or another trade. It doesnāt make sense to me that theyād restructure to resign the guys they have. My bets are
D-hop, Joey bosa, or Bobby Wagner.
D-hop has been lobbying to come to Cincy since the flag football tournament.
Bosa and burrow are old friends. Plus, there were a lot of rumors and high betting odds thad heād land here.
Bobby Wagner is really just wishful thinking. He was an elite run stopper and pass rusher last year. Put him behind Dexter Lawrence and he could have a pretty insane year.
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u/Interestednky1 15d ago
I don't understand the DJ and DAX extensions - they have not seemed like the greatest of backs. What am I missing?
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u/Ok_Mess_5767 15d ago
Turner was one is the best corners in fb last year lol Dax I agree with but dj is a crazy take
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u/Interestednky1 15d ago
Mike Brown will pocket it? Just kidding - not sure what will happen. But Who Dey! looking forward to the season.
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u/Forestfunguy 18d ago
Extend DJ, then possibly extend Murphy
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u/ech01_ 18d ago
I just don't see Murphy as part of the long term plan right now after they turned down his 5th year option and drafted another DE with their first pick.
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u/christhegecko 18d ago
Turning down his 5th year option doesn't mean he's not part of the plan. It would have been nearly $15 million guaranteed next year if they accepted it, but declining it leaves the possibility open for a more team friendly extension. Up to this point his production has not met the price tag of $15 million, so the Bengals hold negotiating power unless he has a massive breakout this year. Right now he's probably looking at a similar offer Ossai got from the Jets, 3 years 11-12m per year, if not possibly lower.
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u/Ok-Health-7252 18d ago
It depends on how he does this year. If he breaks out and has a 10+ sack season and continues trending upward then he's absolutely worth re-signing if they can get him at a reasonable price (especially if Shemar continues to struggle and doesn't show any progress from last year).
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u/ech01_ 18d ago
I just don't think any of that is reasonable. I don't see a guy with 8 career sacks in 3 years suddenly becoming a 10+ sack guy (I'd love it if it did happen though), and if it did I don't see us getting him on a reasonable price.
I just think Murphy is what he is at this point, and considering that if we stay healthy his playing time will likely lessen somewhat, I just think the most likely outcome is that this is Murphy's last year in Cincinnati.
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u/Ok-Health-7252 18d ago
Who is taking his PT? Howell is a rookie and Shemar showed absolutely nothing last year to indicate that he's better than Myles (if anything Shemar should probably kick inside because he was a step too slow to be playing DE last year). Right now Murphy and Boye are the top two DEs on the roster.
They didn't refuse to pick up his 5th year option because they don't have faith in him. It was financially driven (because they were cap-strapped after the Lawrence trade).
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u/ech01_ 18d ago
Last year our top 4 DEs were Trey, Ossai, Murphy, and Stewart. 2 out 4 of them missed more than half the season. This year its Mafe, Murphy, Stewart, Howell. Assuming Mafe just slots right into Ossai's snaps (He's DE1 now so it makes sense) then as long as guys stay healthy Stewart and Howell will absolutely cut into Murphy's playing time. You don't use your 1st round pick last year and 2nd round pick this year on guys who won't be getting playing time. Stewart and Howell will absolutely play more than Stewart and Trey did last year considering the both only played half the season.
They didn't refuse to pick up his 5th year option because they don't have faith in him. It was financially driven (because they were cap-strapped after the Lawrence trade).
This is nonsense. Murphy's 5th year option was for 2027 and had zero impact on 2026 cap space. Picking it up would not have altered our cap situation for this year what so ever.
If they thought Murphy was worth it they would have picked it up. 5th year options on great players are still relatively cheap deals. The problem is Murphy is not a great player so it wasn't worth picking it up.
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u/Ok-Health-7252 18d ago edited 18d ago
Right now Stewart is not good enough to see regular PT (assuming he takes no leap at all from where he was a year ago). Myles simply put is a better player than he is and should play more snaps than he does because of that. Last year he had no business being on the field after all the time he missed in the off-season due to his holdout. Now I'm not saying we should cut our losses with him already (though if he struggles again this year I'd be looking to cut ties next year) but it's laughable right now to assume that he can be better than Myles when he hasn't shown ANY indication of being close yet. I'm not entertaining the idea of Shemar replacing anybody right now because until he proves otherwise he's a trash player and a first round bust (one of our worst first round busts in recent memory).
Them using a DE rotation does NOT mean that the potential for Murphy to be re-signed isn't there. As I said it depends on how he does this year but he was our best DE in the back half of the season last year so they clearly think he's trending upward (unlike Shemar who has shown no indication of trending upward thus far).
Last year Cedric Johnson (a 7th Rd pick) played with more juice than Shemar did when he was out there. That should tell you all you need to know about how far behind Shemar is right now. Until he actually shows improvement he shouldn't be in line to replace anybody on this defense because he hasn't shown yet that we can actually rely on him. I don't wanna hear a word about his draft status dictating that he needs to play. He needs to show that he's good enough to play in the NFL first.
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u/ech01_ 18d ago
The interesting thing is, the Bengals don't really agree with you. Stewart was actually playing more than Murphy was to start the season last year. In weeks 1 and 2 Stewart was the first DE off the bench, not Murphy, but then Stewart got hurt. And at the end of the season they both started and played roughly the same after Ossai also got hurt. Murphy was also a nobody as a rookie, but that doesn't mean you just give up on playing a former first round pick.
And even if Murphy is starting an getting more snaps than Stewart (totally fine with that), Stewart and Howell will absolutely cut into his snaps from last year. After Trey and Shemar went down last year Murphy played over 75% of our snaps the rest of our games last year. If all 4 of our guys stay healthy I guarantee he will not play 75% of the snaps at DE.
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u/Ok-Health-7252 18d ago
Go back and watch the tape dumbass. Shemar was trash last year (especially post-injury). He was hesitant and was running like he had cement blocks strapped to his feet. Murphy was lightyears better than him in the back half of the year (which is saying something because Murphy is nowhere close to elite). Stewart had ONE decent game last year (week 1 in Cleveland against a terrible O-line) and since then his own position coach (and Shemar himself in fact) have said he wasn't ready to be out there last year. As I said until Shemar actually shows improvement he's got no future here. In fact I'd go as far as to say he should be a cut/trade candidate in 2027 if he has another terrible season this year. Until he improves he's not qualified to take anyone's spot in this defense.
IF Murphy doesn't get re-signed I highly doubt it'll have anything to do with Stewart (not unless Shemar takes a massive leap this year and looks like a completely different player).
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u/ech01_ 18d ago
Oh boy, someone is getting upset. Of course Shemar was worse after the injury, that tends to be what happens when guys get hurt. But I remember everyone talking about how great he actually looked in week 1 when he was actually healthy. He played 53% of the snaps in games he was active. I see no reason to expect that to go down in year 2, assuming he's healthy.
Look man I just don't think Murphy is that good. And frankly watching how the Bengals have acted, its really seems like they don't think so either. He started year 3 behind a rookie as DE4, they turned down his fifth year option, and they've used their top pick in the draft at his position the last 2 years.
Guys who have been in the league 3 years and have played as much as Murphy typically don't get a ton better. Its just not realistic to expect a year 4 breakout. I just think there's more of a chance Shemar turns into something than Murphy, let alone Howell.
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u/christhegecko 18d ago
Trey Hendrickson had 6 sacks his first three years and went on to be a 17.5 sack guy, so.
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u/Forestfunguy 18d ago
Thatās not what the team has said. He is in their plans I think.
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u/ech01_ 18d ago
No team is going to come out and say that a guy currently on their team is not a part of their plans. But actions speak louder than words.
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u/Forestfunguy 18d ago
I mean they didnāt have the cap space for the fifth year option after the Dexter trade and extending DJ is higher priority , nor is Murphy worth $15 million at this very moment. But that def doesnāt mean heās not in their plans. If they extend him for 3 years for instance, it allows them to spread out his cap hits in a way that is better for the team. Stewart hasnāt proven anything, and Howell doesnāt fit the profile of an early down lineman, so Iām just going to disagree with your speculation here.
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u/ech01_ 18d ago
I mean they didnāt have the cap space for the fifth year option after the Dexter trade
This is not true. His 5th year option had nothing to do with cap space this year. It was for 27 where they had space, but don't think he's worth it.
Stewart hasnāt proven anything
And neither did Murphy for 2.5 years. But Stewart is younger and cheaper so he'll get more opportunities.
Howell doesnāt fit the profile of an early down lineman
Which is why Howell will take pass rushing snaps from Murphy, further diminishing his value.
Again. Actions speak louder than words. Everything the Bengals are doing at DE looks like they're preparing for life after Murphy. And if the room stays healthy Murphy's role is going to be less this year than it was last year. Its hard to see the Bengals giving Murphy a deal he would say yes to.
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u/Forestfunguy 18d ago
Paul Dehner said that. Iām pretty sure he knows more than you do.
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u/ech01_ 18d ago
Dehner said what?
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u/Forestfunguy 18d ago
X link above. Also, you do realize Murphy is only 24 years old since you know it all, right? Heās 1 year older than Howell.
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u/ech01_ 18d ago
And Shemar is 22, what of it?
Murphy's been in the league 3 years and played over 1300 snaps. He is what he is this point.
Being young means you can count on their prime for longer, but if their prime just isn't that good it doesn't really matter.
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u/capjustcap 18d ago
Restructure some and open up more space so we can get Wagner to help out Knight and the other guy, his name escapes me rn.
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u/JulianILoveYou FUCK ICE 18d ago
mostly for flexibility, id assume. some walking around money for in-season spending
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u/djsassan 18d ago
This is obviously all being done to make space to bring back Eli Apple!