Three Obvious Offseason Questions The Bengals Must Answer Correctly
Credit: Sam Greene via Imagn Images
The 2024 Cincinnati Bengals season has mercifully come to a close. Being the lone 9-8 team in the NFL, they will now pick 17th in the draft, but that isn’t the only item on the offseason agenda. They’ll look from the top on down to figure out what went wrong, why it went wrong, and how to stop it from going wrong again in 2025.
Today, let’s focus on the biggest questions the Bengals must answer in the coming months.
How Will the Wide Receiver Room Look?
The pass-catchers that helped Joe Burrow to a career year (so far) might get a big-time shake-up heading into 2025. However, there are a ton in Who Dey Nation that are still clinging to the hope that the Bengals can bring back their dynamic duo of Triple Crown winner Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.
#Bengals need to get the Ja'Marr Chase extension done by March 1. Cannot let it linger into the summer. Get it done and let that chart the path for Higgins deal, Free Agency, and the Draft.
— Austin Elmore (@autyelmore) January 6, 2025
It all comes down to financial ability and willingness. How willing are the Bengals to invest in this offense? How willing are the star receivers to structure their contracts to make a deal like this possible? WHY am I asking YOU all these questions?
When healthy, Chase and Higgins have both shown that they are more than worth the money that they are expected to receive, but paying them both will likely be a huge issue. The general belief is that Higgins will depart for a different organization for WR1 money, and Chase will receive the largest contract for a wide receiver in NFL history with Cincinnati.
Unfortunately, that may be far from the end of the wide receiver questions the Bengals will have to deal with this offseason.
Jermaine Burton is a case study on why it is important to consider character in draft evaluations.
Effort, development, etc all take the right mindset and less of field distractions.
Taking him on Day 2 was a mistake from the start
— Shane P. Hallam (@ShanePHallam) January 4, 2025
Jermaine Burton came to the Bengals with plenty of highly-publicized red flags, and it seems that all he has done this season is prove the scouting reports correct. He had limited snaps in the passing game and totaled four receptions in all of 2024. While his primary contributions to the Bengals were in the kick return game, he managed to grab the most headlines for all the wrong reasons, to the shock of nobody.
Jermaine Burton is cooked. Dan Johnson on the case first pic.twitter.com/mo3ppkR2dD
— Dan Johnson, Dad, Sports Fan, American (@danthesportsdad) January 4, 2025
It’s looking more and more unlikely that Burton will even be on the roster next season. The eviction from his apartment was a sad end to a disappointing rookie season, and just over eight months after he was drafted, he was barred from traveling with the team before the final game in Pittsburgh. Even with his immense talent and potential, his roster spot in 2025 is no guarantee, which is a bleak realization considering the investment the Bengals made in acquiring him.
How Will the Coaching Changes Shake Out?
The happiest day in any disappointed fanbase’s offseason is when the coaches they despised get the boot. If you wanted Cincinnati to do some house-cleaning, you got your wish on Black Monday.
BREAKING: Sources confirm #Bengals part ways with DC Lou Anarumo, OL coach Frank Pollack, LB coach James Bettcher and DL coach Marion Hobby.
— Paul Dehner Jr. (@pauldehnerjr) January 6, 2025
Lou Anarumo, in particular, was the mastermind behind a unit that performed below expectations and got worse over time. Anarumo, who was tied with Steve Spagnulo and Todd Bowles for longest-tenured defensive coordinator in the NFL, had regressed during his tenure as defensive coordinator, and now he will be looking for new work.
The Bengals now have plenty of options out there to take his job (*cough cough*), but perhaps it was time to let a coach, who failed to develop young talent in favor of loyalty to veterans, move onto a new job. They will be tasked with continuing to develop a young defense whose performance improved with continued reps late in the season.
Where Will the Bengals Re-Allocate Their Financial Resources?
Cincinnati has the option to cut bait on multiple expensive, aging veterans who have regressed in 2024.
Players: Cordell Volson, Alex Cappa, Sheldon Rankins, Sam Hubbard, Geno Stone
Coaches: Frank Pollack
— Gabe Hoyer (@GabeHoyer) January 6, 2025
In addition to the possibility of Higgins’ free agent exit, freeing up money being spent on those cut candidates would solidify the opportunity for the Bengals to build a new foundation that can guide the team through Burrow’s prime. It will also help the Bengals adjust to new contracts for mega-stars like Burrow and (likely) Chase, among others.
The Bengals should have plenty of cash to throw around to help support Burrow. With an ever-increasing amount of pressure on the front office and Zac Taylor to succeed, particularly in the wake of the fallout from coaching staff firings, they will likely invest heavily in the product they put on the field.
It will be a long offseason of figuring out how to answer these pressing issues, but they must roll up their sleeves and get to work in order to ensure another MVP-caliber season from Burrow doesn’t go to waste.
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