This is The Gridiron Review’s Cincinnati Bengals 2023 Offseason Team Breakdown. We provide you with all things you need to know about the Bengals heading into FA and the draft. We also provide our thoughts on the needs of the team and how we think they can be addressed!

Cincinnati Bengals 2022 Record: 12-4

Cincinnati Bengals Salary Cap(According to Spotrac): $35,547,532

Notable Free Agents(According to Spotrac):

• Brandon Allen, QB
• Samaje Perine, RB
• Trent Taylor, WR
• Hayden Hurst, TE
• Drew Sample, TE
• Germaine Pratt, LB
• Eli Apple, CB
• Jessie Bates III, S
• Vonn Bell, S

Team Needs: RB, WR(Depth), TE, OL(Depth), LB, CB, S

3 Free Agent Targets(In No Order):

1. Miles Sanders, RB
2. Foster Moreau, TE
3. James Bradberry, CB

Cincinnati Bengals First Round Pick(s): Pick 28

3 Draft Prospect Fits/Targets:

1. Sam LaPorta, TE, Iowa
2. Trenton Simpson, LB, Clemson
3. Christopher Smith, S, Georgia

Our Bengals Ideal Offseason Plans/Thoughts:

• The fact that the Bengals have $35 million in cap is pretty wild despite the fact they haven’t paid Burrow yet. In the last two seasons they’ve made an AFC Championship and a Super Bowl. They lost the Super Bowl to the Rams 23-20(Lack of O-Line killed them). Then this year they lost to the Chiefs 23-20. The way this Bengals roster is built there’s no reason they can’t be serious contenders for years to come.
• Samaje Perine had a really strong 2022 campaign and should absolutely be brought back. The only reason RB is listed as a need is because of the current legal situation with Joe Mixon. The old expression is “Innocent until proven guilty”, but in sports you need to cover your bases. You can’t just assume Mixon is innocent because if he ends up being guilty and you didn’t sign/draft someone just in case then you look really stupid. Some people may not agree that they bring in another top tier RB, but it wouldn’t be a terrible idea. Miles Sanders should absolutely be an option here coming off a healthy and strong 2022. Sanders could be RB1 if Mixon ends up in trouble and Sanders/Mixon could be the next great RB duo like the Browns had with Chubb/Hunt. If you can keep your RBs fresh it will help take the pressure off of Burrow
• The Bengals have the best starting trio of WRs in the NFL. Stanley Morgan was re-signed last offseason, and Trenton Irwin emerged as a solid backup this year, but Trent Taylor is a FA, they could look to add another depth piece or two.
• The Bengals have lacked a legit TE threat for a few years now. The Bengals have 3 total TEs set to become FA this offseason. They could re-sign one or all of them, but they should look for a serious receiving threat. Iowa’s Sam LaPorta could definitely be an option here at pick 28. Our biggest concern about LaPorta was his blocking, but he looked good enough in the sled drill at the combine to make us feel like he’s been working on it and could be better than he looked last year. If they wanted to sign an already proven player they could look to add Foster Moreau in FA.
• When healthy, the Bengals may have one of the best offensive lines in football. One of the big reasons this unit is good tackle to tackle is thanks to the emergence of 4th rounder Cordell Volson. Volson wasn’t perfect in his rookie year, but he played well enough to start at LG, which was the only position not solidified heading into training camp. This offensive line struggled with injuries all season long though. The Bengals need to address the depth of the offensive line because they struggled pretty heavily when guys started going down.
• The Bengals LB room is interesting. Obviously they have the room leader, Logan Wilson. Germaine Pratt though is set to become a FA. They have two guys they drafted in 2020, Markus Bailey and Akeem Davis-Gaither, who could compete for the open spot assuming Pratt isn’t brought back. Davis-Gaither would probably be the favorite to start over Bailey if that’s the case, but it’s also possible they look to try to improve on Pratt. After a fairly strong combine showing, Clemson LB Trenton Simpson could sneak his way into the first round. Simpson should absolutely be considered an option here at pick 28. 
• Finally, the achilles heel of the Cincinnati Bengals… the secondary. Eli Apple is once again a FA, STOP RE-SIGNING HIM. HE’S NOT WORTH THE TIME OR HEADACHE! CB1 Chidobe Awuzie is coming off a torn ACL, and there’s no saying he’ll come back the same player. The Bengals paid up for the offensive line last year, they need to be willing to pay for a big time CB this offseason. James Bradberry should be a name to watch here. Bradberry would be going from a contender to another contender and the Bengals have the money to pay him what he’s looking for unlike the Eagles. If Awuzie comes back strong then you have a super strong starting CB trio in Bradberry, Awuzie, and Hilton. That’s not including 2nd rounder Cam Taylor-Britt who had to step in this year and actually played pretty well(from what we could tell).
• The Bengals safety room is in an incredibly weird spot. They have arguably one of the best safety duos in the league in Bates and Bell, but both are FAs. Bates was tagged last offseason and held out for a while in hopes of getting a long term deal done. It never happened but Bates came back and played on the tag. Bates however did not get tagged by Tuesday’s deadline. It doesn’t mean Bates couldn’t stay in Cincy, but it definitely seems like they are headed for divorce. Vonn Bell has had a strong few seasons in Cincy and should be considered a priority re-sign. If they do lose out on Bell too, the only positive is that they drafted two safeties last year, Dax Hill(1st round) and Tycen Andersosn(5th round). Dax seems like a lock to start, but they could bring in someone to compete with Anderson. Look for Georgia’s Chris Smith to be an option here at pick 28. Smith didn’t have a strong Senior Bowl or Combine outing, but has unbelievable game tape. He could still be a candidate to go in the late first round. I would absolutely love to see Smith and Hill take over as the safety duo for Bates/Bell. I think that would be electric!