A total of 15 players from the 2025 roster are set to hit free agency in March, according to OverTheCap.com. Among those are defensive ends Trey Hendrickson and Joseph Ossai, free safety Geno Stone, cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt, right guard Dalton Risner, tight end Noah Fant and backup quarterbacks Joe Flacco and Jake Browning.
“We’re going to weigh all options,” Tobin said in an end-of-season press conference when asked if the Bengals would attack free agency differently on defense this year. “I’m not prepared, even if I was willing to share exactly what we were going to do. I don’t know at this point what we’re going to do. We’re still working through all those options, but it’ll be important for us to make the right decisions. It’ll be very important for us to make the right decisions to improve our football team, particularly improve our defense.
“… We need an increase in talent on that side of the ball, and there’s no question about it, we’ll take a look and see how much we can get done.”
Of the pending free agents, Risner and Ossai were both vocal about wanting to return and perhaps showed enough to warrant new deals. Risner said he would like to get a deal done before free agency so he and his wife can settle down in one place for a change, after multiple seasons in limbo during free agency.
Ossai finished the 2024 season strong to earn a one-year deal last March, and now he’s got perhaps more of a market after looking comfortable in Hendrickson’s spot the second half of 2025. The Bengals need more than 5.0 sacks out of their starters next year, but Ossai showed he can contribute.
While it seems unlikely Hendrickson will return, Bengals coach Zac Taylor said “there’s always a path.”
Hendrickson suffered a hip and pelvis injury that sidelined him for the final nine games and he was not seen on the practice fields or in the locker room after Cincinnati’s bye week. Eventually he underwent surgery, but it’s unclear if he continued participating in meetings during his rehab.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
The Bengals had given Hendrickson a raise in 2025 in lieu of the extension or trade he was seeking. A franchise tag is estimated to cost $34.8 million, if the Cincinnati wanted to continue to control the asset.
Tobin said adding to the pass rush will be a top priority, regardless of whether Hendrickson returns or not.
“I’m for pass rush,” Tobin said. “I don’t know what the future holds for Trey. Those are discussions that we’re going to have to have ongoing. He’s one of a number of free agents that we have that we’ll have to decide how we’re going to go forward with. But pass rush is king, and you always need to be layering in pass rushers. It can develop from within your team, and I think we’ve seen some of that start to develop from within our team. And then I think we need to find some from external sources, as well.”
Versatile defensive lineman Cam Sample also is a pending free agent. Others who could hit the market are safety/special teams standout Tycen Anderson, cornerbacks Marco Wilson and Jalen Davis, linebacker Brian Asamoah and veteran guard Lucas Patrick.
Cincinnati could be looking to rebuild its quarterback room behind Burrow if Flacco doesn’t return. He said he would be willing to back up Burrow but hopes he has options where he might have a better opportunity to play. Taylor said he understands Flacco’s position but would love to have him back.
It seems unlikely Browning will return after he was benched when the Bengals traded for Flacco. He had started three games while Burrow was out due to turf toe surgery before the organization decided to move on.
The team likely will need another tight end to replace Fant, though Erick All Jr. should be back in the fold. Fant struggled with fumbles, losing three that resulted in touchdowns for the opposing defense, and it’s still a question mark whether All can stay healthy.
Tobin, his staff and the coaches have their work cut out for them this offseason trying to get the Bengals back to championship contention after three straight seasons missing the playoffs. Four years ago, they won an AFC Championship to get to the Super Bowl to end the 2021 season, and they made it to the conference championship the next season but haven’t had a chance to play in the postseason since.
“All I can do is work us out of it,” Tobin said. “We have done it before. We have done it before with a team full of draft choices and had high-level football teams. We have done it before with a blend of free agents and draft choices and then we have also taken us to the Super Bowl with a number of UFA signings. We can add to the team in a lot of different areas. … The whole puzzle does have to fit together. We work to fit the puzzle together in the best way we can do that.”
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