In some minor news from before the draft, Bengals G/OT Cody Ford has agreed to take a pay cut for the upcoming season.
Entering the final year of his deal, Ford was set to earn $2.9M in cash. This money was not guaranteed, and the Bengals, if they felt the need, could have gotten out of the entire contract.
Instead, Ford has agreed to a $1.3M salary, which is the league minimum for a veteran player, while trimming $1.6M off of the total.
Moves like this are not uncommon. In fact, the Bengals also did it last offseason with Geno Stone, Cordell Volson, and Zack Moss. The player, recognizing the team’s leverage with no remaining guaranteed money, accepts the pay cut in order to remain with the team and hang onto their role.
In this case, accepting the pay cut was a safe move for Ford. If released, he would be unlikely to earn much more than the minimum anyways. But in Cincinnati, his spot as a depth option is relatively safe, so entering a new situation for the same money would not have made sense.
In other news, former Bengals DE Cam Sample has signed a 1 year deal with the San Francisco 49ers.
Sample was originally a 4th round pick of the Bengals in 2021. Throughout his time in CIncinnati, he served as a rotational guy, save for the 2024 season, which he missed due to an achilles injury.
After the defence as a whole severely underperformed this past season, it was clear the team was looking to revamp the unit, which left Sample out of their plans. This was further exemplified when they used their 2nd round pick on DE Cashius Howell.
Sample ends his time in Cincinnati with 7 sacks and 85 tackles.
