The Cincinnati Bengals officially have their big three on offense: Joe Burrow at quarterback, Ja’Marr Chase as wide receiver #1 and Tee Higgins as wide receiver #2. With both Chase and Higgins getting their big contracts, we should expect Cincy to compete in 2025.
The team performed well on offense in 2024, but because of their lackluster defense the Bengals finished the year 9-8 and just barely missed the playoffs. While the team certainly addressed the star power this offseason, they’ve hardly addressed their defense.
Chase’s contract includes a four-year $161 million deal with $112 million guaranteed and Higgins was just signed to a four-year $115 million deal. These contracts are only possible because Burrow took a pay cut to keep the big three together.
While that certainly covers Cincinnati’s offense, especially with the re-signing of tight end Mike Gesicki for the next three years. However, Cincinnati has yet to address the biggest missing piece on their team: defense.
With these big signings along with Burrow’s contract, that leaves the Bengals with $22 million in cap space, which is 18th in the NFL. With that kind of cap space, it’ll be hard for the Bengals to address their biggest missing spots on defense.
Last season the Bengals defense was ranked 25th in yards allowed with them giving up 348.3 yards allowed per game. They also surrendered 53 total touchdowns last season, which was a key factor in them missing the playoffs.
Six of the eight Bengal losses last year happened when the team surrendered more than 30 points. In over half of their wins, the defense still allowed over 20 points and on two occasions the Bengals were forced to play in overtime.
The secondary was the biggest Achilles heel for the Bengals, but they had one bright spot on that defense last year: Trey Hendrickson.
For the second straight year, Hendrickson accumulated 17.5 sacks on the season, only in 2024 he was named the NFL’s sack leader. Hendrickson provided a silver lining in an otherwise awful Bengal defense.
However, there’s a different issue involving Hendrickson. Because of his back-to-back impressive seasons, Hendrickson is asking for an extension.
Because they spent so much on offense, Cincinnati doesn’t have enough cap space to give Hendrickson what he deserves and therefore they’ve recently granted him permission to seek a trade.
Another key loss on defense was the retirement of Sam Hubbard. While Hubbard wasn’t as dominant as Hendrickson, it’s still a major loss for the Bengals defense.
Hubbard was the captain of the pass rush, provided continuity at his position and was a major presence on that defense that’ll be sorely missed.
It’s safe to say that Cincy may be in trouble. They’ll likely have one of the league’s best offense in 2025, but with no cap space to build their defense it’s very likely they’ll suffer from the same fate they had in 2024.
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