The Bengals have agreed to terms with former Ravens S Geno Stone to a 2 year/$14M contract. There are an additional $500k in Pro Bowl incentives for each of those years.
Stone was originally a 7th round pick of the Ravens in 2020. After playing a lot on special teams in his first couple of seasons, things took off for him, especially this past season where he finished 2nd overall in interceptions, with 7.
The Bengals were in the market for a S after Daxton Hill had some ups and downs in his first year starting in place of Jessie Bates. Hill has a lot of upside still, but with a lot of supply on the market at the position, the Bengals didn’t have to break the bank to add to it. They were smart to go and get a good player at a good price.
Hill should still see playing time. He especially did well last season in coverage against TE’s. That should continue. It may even open up an opportunity to move him around a bit and use his athleticism in different ways. As well, we may even see him take a step forward as a FS, which would really make things interesting in terms of how they go about the rotation.
In any event, the Bengals defence has gotten stronger with this signing, while also taking from a division rival.
In other news, former Bengals CB Chidobe Awuzie will be signing a 3 year/$36M deal with the Tennessee Titans. The deal includes $23M guaranteed.
Awuzie first joined the Bengals as a free agent in 2021, and quickly became the CB1. He shut down opponents’ top players, and was a big part of the team’s Super Bowl run that season.
Part way through the 2022 season, he unfortunately suffered a torn ACL against the Browns. He was ready for week 1 this past season, but did have a bit of a down year.
It would have been nice to keep Awuzie around, as I do expect him to bounce back. Players don’t often get back to normal until 2 years after an ACL injury. This could be the cause with Awuzie as well. However, the Bengals have Cam Taylor-Britt ready to take over as the CB1. Further, DJ Turner got a lot of work as a rookie, and he may be in line to take over as the CB2. With all of the draft capital spent on the position, this price was too rich for the Bengals to even consider keeping Awuzie.
With Awuzie joining Brian Callahan in Tennessee, the Bengals will need to add a veteran at the position. We will see if it is more of a quality depth signing, which would signal their intent to let Turner start, or if they go for a player that can start for a season or two, allowing them to bring Turner along slowly.
Featured Image Via: Eli Marshall