Bengals sign OT Trent Brown to a 1 year deal.
Brown was originally a 7th round selection by the San Francisco 49ers in 2015. After starting the final two games of his rookie season, he earned a starting spot the next year and ended up starting all 16 games.
Since then, Brown has had a couple of stints with the New England Patriots, with two years on the Raiders sandwiched in between. He has generally been a reliable starter, with his size, strength, and long reach playing a big part in that. However, he has only started over 10 games once in the last 4 seasons. Injuries have been an issue.
The Bengals will need health to be on his side. If they can get some luck in that area, this will be a huge pickup for them – both literally and figuratively. After the departure of Jonah Williams, the team had a hole to fill at RT. But since then, many of the options have signed elsewhere, and Trent Brown was probably the last one left who you can confidently say is a quality starter when he is on the field.
Another OT may be added in free agency to compete for a depth spot. As well, I would expect the Bengals to take one within the first few rounds of the draft. Adding more talent to the position should be a priority, especially with more of a long term outlook, given Brown’s 1 year contract.
Modified Homescreen Image Via: Jeffrey Beall (CC)