The Bengals have retained a couple of depth receivers. Stanley Morgan has been re-signed to a 2 year deal, while Trenton Irwin has been brought back on a 1 year deal.
Morgan was set to be a RFA, but the Bengals allowed him to hit the market instead of tendering him. Of course, in doing this, you risk losing him. However, the tender was too expensive for what he brings to the team, and the Bengals were able to retain him at a cheaper price.
Morgan has been one of the better special teamers for the Bengals over the past few seasons. Darrin Simmons surely played a part in him coming back. That said, he hasn’t contributed much at all on offence, beyond his blocking and the odd catch. The special teams ability may give him an inside track, but he will have to compete for a roster spot.
Irwin, meanwhile, was a preseason standout for the Bengals. However, he wasn’t able to parlay it into much during the season, making only a few catches. He will also have to battle for his spot once again in the offseason.
In other news, the Bengals have released CB Trae Waynes. The former 1st round pick was signed to a big deal back in 2020, but injuries have caused him to play in only a small handful of games for the Bengals. Further, when he was on the field, he did not do much to impress.
Waynes was going into the final year of his 3 year deal. Releasing him saves $10.8M in cap space, while leaving behind $5M in dead money.
The cap clearing moves did not stop with Hopkins and Waynes. OT Fred Johnson has been waived by the Bengals.
Johnson has previously been rendered as a RFA. Had they kept him under the tender, he would have made $2.433M. It seems as though Johnson was tendered as an insurance policy in case they struck out on La’el Collins or other free agents. Now that they have Collins under contract, it is clear that they felt the tender was too much for Johnson.
Johnson will now have to pass through waivers. If he goes unclaimed, it is possible the Bengals work something out for him to stay on a cheaper deal.
