The Bengals have given tendered offers to QB Jake Browning and LS Cal Adomitis.
Both are ERFA’s heading into the free agency period. This means that the Bengals have retained their exclusive negotiation rights.
The players now have the option to sign the tender, which would pay them under $1M for this upcoming season, or negotiate a deal that would increase their pay, the length of the deal, or both. But they can only negotiate with the Bengals.
Adomitis has been the team’s starting long snapper for essentially the past 2 seasons. In all likelihood, he will sign the tender.
With Browning, it will be interesting to see what happens. He doesn’t really have a lot of leverage, as if he wants more money but the Bengals hold their ground, his only other option would be to sit out. But with how well he played at the end of last season, he might make the argument that he deserves more. The Bengals may also choose to throw him a bone and give him a bit of a raise. We’ll see.
In other news, the Bengals have again added to their coaching staff.
Ben Jacobs has been hired as a special teams assistant. This comes after their previous one, Colt Anderson, was poached away by Brian Callahan and the Titans.
Jacobs comes over from the Washington Commanders after serving as their special teams assistant for 4 seasons. He held the same position with the Carolina Panthers for 1 season before that. Jacobs also played in the NFL as a LB, appearing in 73 combined games for the Browns and Panthers. Interestingly, he also spent a couple of weeks on the Bengals practice squad back in 2012.
Earlier on, Ronnie Regula was added to the staff as a defensive assistant. At the time, I speculated as to whether he might also take on some of Anderson’s old responsibilities, given his experience as a special teams coordinator at the college level. But with Jacobs in the fold, we now know that will not be the case.
With Jacobs filling the void left by Anderson, the Bengals no longer have any openings that need to be filled. Could they theoretically add another coach and increase the size of their staff? Sure. But after a lot of turnover throughout the coaching staff this offseason, the changes might be over and done with.
Modified Homescreen Image Via: Keith Allison (CC)