Locked On Bengals - Daily Podcast On The Cincinnati Bengals - Bengals Add Jonathan Allen to D-Line for BIG Money | Smart Move?

Starting point is 00:00:00 We've got action. The Cincinnati Bengals have signed Jonathan Allen to a bid to your deal. You are locked on Bengals, your daily Cincinnati Bengals podcast. Part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. What up Bengals fans and welcome to another episode of the Lockdown Bengals podcast. Part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day and the number one sports podcast network in the land. He's James Rapine. I'm Jake Lisco.

Starting point is 00:00:36 are your host of the lockdown bengals podcast covering your team going all the way back to 2016 every day here on the lockdown podcast network and we appreciate all of you who have been with us on this roller coaster of a week we waited two days for the bengals to get off their butts and do something and they did something our insiders the lockdown bengals insiders over at join subtext.com slash lockdown bengals found out that the bengals may have been in on jonathan as soon as we knew and about an hour later, I believe, the deal was announced. And it's a bit of a bigger deal than we thought it would be. But we're going to discuss the addition of Jonathan Allen to the Cincinnati Bengals defensive line.

Starting point is 00:01:22 We're going to discuss Orlando Brown getting a mildly surprising two-year extension. I think it's something we've alluded to the extension possibility for Orlando Brown. But the timing of it certainly is a surprise to me. James, I thought this was something that we'd be talking about after the draft. not in the middle of free agency. And I even actually, we talked about it last night after we recorded. And I did not understand that it was so imminent at the time. I thought it was something that they were exploring for after the draft. But Orlando Brown also gets a two-year deal.

Starting point is 00:01:51 We'll circle back to that topic a little bit later in the show because the new shiny thing is Jonathan Allen, who gets a two-year deal worth up to $28 million from the Bengals. Base value said to be about $26 million. We're still waiting for the details, of course, but a large deal for a player who has a great track record but has shown some signs of decline lately, still has some juices of pass rusher, still can help. What were your first thoughts, James, when you came across this news? Yeah, well, first things first, it was a need and you need to improve your pass rush. And so is Jonathan Allen someone that makes sense in some ways? Absolutely.

Starting point is 00:02:33 he can still get after the quarterback. He can still make quarterbacks uncomfortable, blow-up plays, wreck plays, have tackles for loss, all of the things that the Bengals just haven't had from that defensive tackle spot. At the same time, he isn't the pro bowler that some remember. He appeared in all 17 games for the Vikings last year, had racked up the tackles, had 68 tackles, but you look at it. And it's like, all right, well, you had three and a half sacks. and he had a 65, 64.9 overall,

Starting point is 00:03:05 past Russ grade from pro football focus. It's what he does best still is get after the quarterback. And so there's, is that a need? Yeah, that's a need. They need more quarterback hits. They need more tackles for loss and more sacks, more disruption. But when I saw the money, then it just feels much, much different. You're talking about a serious investment.

Starting point is 00:03:32 here. This isn't, oh, he's got 8 million guaranteed from the Vikings, just give him a Von Bell deal, and it'll offset. And that's kind of what I thought when I heard that this was a possibility. It's the exact opposite. I mean, this is more than what they gave Sheldon Rankins. When DJ Reader left town and they gave Sheldon Rankins a two year, I think it was $27 million contract. Obviously with inflation, it's not more, but overall dollars and cents, you look at it. And it is. So, yeah, two years, a guy that played in all 17 games. was durable last year, but has had some injuries, the Bengals are banking on him and BJ Hill

Starting point is 00:04:07 to bring the pressure on the interior. You don't have to go back that part to John Allen being an elite interior pass rusher, but you have to go back far enough that you kind of wonder, and there's been some discussion this week when we were talking about Javon Hardrae, for example, he even last year had a better pass rush win rate

Starting point is 00:04:23 than Allen did by a fairly significant margin. We talked about the Minnesota defense in the way that Brian Flores is utilizing his defense, line to try to free up his blitzers and try to flush the quarterback into his blitzers. We talked about this with Seattle a little bit with Boy A Mafé and the way his role changed when Mike McDonald arrived in Seattle as well. But you go back to John Allen's last couple of years with the commanders and you go back to 2023.

Starting point is 00:04:49 He had a 22% pass rush win rate on the interior, which obliterates anything on the Cincinnati Bengals roster in that period of time. Now, that's a few years ago. That year, BJ Hill was at 13%. You go to 2024, the number goes down. You go to 2025. That number is all the way down to about 11%. But even that is an improvement on what the Bengals were putting on the field as an interior pass rusher.

Starting point is 00:05:16 So even if they get just that level of productivity that we saw with the Vikings from Jonathan Allen, that's still a bit of an improvement? Is it a two-year $26 million improvement? I don't know. but the Bengals needed to do something here. So assuming this isn't it, and we'll have to see what the structure looks like and all those things for Orlando Brown's extension as well

Starting point is 00:05:41 in terms of the cap implications of these deals, they needed to do something. And you can talk yourself into Jonathan Allen being an improvement on the pass rush. Now, you go back to 2024 when the decline really started to be evident, and Washington's past win rate on true pass sets was 15%. And so,

Starting point is 00:05:59 maybe it's somewhere between Minnesota, where you have the schematic differences, and what he was doing in Washington when he was asked to be more of a winner himself. He also got hurt in 2024, so didn't play quite as much, I think. Yeah. And so

Starting point is 00:06:16 we'll see what version of John Allen they get. Obviously, in his prime, he was a monster, a game record. I don't think he's that anymore, but he's a veteran who has the skins on the wall and hopefully he can still bring some of that juice that he still seems to have as a past rush or more than anything. And again, we'll see how the schematic difference is between what Brian Flores was doing in Minnesota and what Al Golden wants to do with Allen and Cincinnati may or may not impact Allen's productivity.

Starting point is 00:06:47 Yeah, it's, when I think of it, it's twofold. One, you think about the football fit. and there are a lot of reasons to buy into that. And then the other goes to the money. And then it also goes to it's Thursday. And all of those things matter. I mean, Alan's been available for, I mean, he was on the market for far less than 24 hours. I imagine if it got there.

Starting point is 00:07:12 He had some significant offers. The supply demand, a portion of it is an important part. But this is why, and it's probably the last time I bring it up, maybe not. You know, I don't know. but the Osa-Digizua, possible trade with a guy that doesn't have the age question, is under contract for three years, is making a little bit more annually, but it's not like that crazy different. And they're just at way different phases.

Starting point is 00:07:44 Like I just, I think it's so interesting because at least on the surface, from what we know, the Bengals didn't really express interest there. But then a day later, they're in on Jonathan Allen to a significant degree. This isn't a one-year $4 million penny-saving deal regardless of the structure. And so that's interesting to me. It's interesting that they went this route. And yet I still see the football fit. I like the rotation overall on the interior that they can have right now.

Starting point is 00:08:15 And it makes sense. And it's going to probably be better than not just last year, but better than we've seen over the past few years. is it good enough? Well, it's never good enough, right? You sleep, think pass rush all the time when you're trench man, but it has improved. So it depends on how you want to look at it, how you want to frame it. But is the Bengals pass rush? Is their defensive front better now than it was three hours ago?

Starting point is 00:08:42 I say yes, it's better now. And Jonathan Allen is going to give them leadership, have the intangibles, all those things. He's not Sheldon Rankins where this is going to blow up. I don't really think that that's the case. And by the way, I'm not making fun of Sheldron Rankins who obviously got sick. Like that didn't feel like a fit before that. There were definitely some vibes that fell off from when they signed Rankins and early in the season before he got sick and all of those things. So, yeah, I think this is going to help them.

Starting point is 00:09:10 It should. And our guy, Luke Braun, from Locked on Vikings, said it was a good get. He was actually much more interested in the Vikings keeping Jonathan Allen. This is anecdotal, right? This is a player that he would have liked to see the Vikings restructure instead of cut. And I think there are cap reasons that are part of that as well. But I just wanted to check on what our guy, Luke, Braun, said. We've had some enjoyable conversations with Luke over the years on crossovers and things like that.

Starting point is 00:09:36 And there's obviously been some Vikings-Bengals connections. I'll probably ask Luke for a little bit more of what was going on with John Allen from hit, because he's a film grinder. He's like our guy stands. He's a bit of a film grinder. So we'll do some investigation. there as well. We'll continue this conversation with a bit of speculation, I think, James, about where this leaves the Bengals cap, what's next?

Starting point is 00:09:59 And then we'll get to the Orlando Brown extension because that is significant news. The timing of it, like I said, a little bit surprising as the Bengals get off the inactivity train that they start to do some things here midday Thursday. We'll get into that coming up next. Today's show is brought to by Fandul. Fandul is America's number one sports book. college hoops, well, they're here. March is here and it is time for college hoops. College basketball is nonstop, big games, tight spreads. Obviously, there is all of the conference tournaments are going on this weekend.

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Starting point is 00:11:00 By the way, shout out to a big Bengals fan. Hopefully locked on Bengals listener. Dan Hurley, I know he's going up against Xavier. I got to be honest. As a UC grad, I usually still root for Xavier

Starting point is 00:11:12 because they're close, Jake. But Dan Hurley's a Bengals guy, so Yukon by 60. That being said, all you got to do is head to fandle.com. To get started, that's fandle.

Starting point is 00:11:22 com. Fandle play your game. James, I want to shout out to everydayers as we continue the conversation here. If you are an everydayer, a listener to this Lockdown Bengals podcast, well, there's a club just for you, and you can join it for free.

Starting point is 00:11:39 If you get in in the next few days, until March 15th, if you're going to go to Locktimebengles. com, locktongbengles.com supercast.com. Use promo code free agency. You'll get access to an ad-free month of Lockdown Bengals and the Lockdown

Starting point is 00:11:54 Bengals Discord channel on the Lockdown Discord channel on the Lockdown Discord server for a month. Sorry, LockdownBengles. That supercast.com promo code free agency. James, a lot of money for Jonathan Allen here probably points to his role with the Bengals. This is not going to be a small role with the Bengals. This is a contract that I believe is larger than BJ Hill's contract, which was closer to 10 million, correct?

Starting point is 00:12:20 It was 11 or 10. Three for 30. Three for 30. Yep. So this is a larger deal, shorter deal. larger deal than the Bengals gave their other 31 year old defensive tackle, who was quite happy, apparently to see the signing. He tweeted a big smiley face after the news came out.

Starting point is 00:12:35 And I don't know that it's going to be an 800 snap role for Jonathan Allen, but it's going to be, it sounds like a quite sizable role. And with T.J. Slayton on the roster playing a different position than Allen or B.J. Hill, the veteran depth on the defensive interior for the. Bengals is now quite substantial between those three guys. Yeah. Yeah, I think you're right about the snaps. I mean, even BJ Hill last year, 670 and BJ was nicked up and fighting through it. But you would hope that those guys could almost keep each other fresh to an extent. And not that they wouldn't be on the field at times together. I think BJ had a pretty darn solid year and it kind of got

Starting point is 00:13:20 overshadowed by some things. But it is veteran leadership. And it does, it does pave the way. Like, I think they could play a game tomorrow with their defensive tackles. And so that's mission accomplished from that perspective. That was kind of the standard that I wanted for these position groups. And well, safety and defensive tackle are the ones that I feel good about.

Starting point is 00:13:43 And that might be it right now. But speaking of what's next, but it's not like that this means that they can't draft Peter Woods at 10 or they can't draft Caleb Banks or they can't draft whatever defensive tackle in round two like they're still going to be in the market. Jonathan Allen's 31. He was in the 2017 draft. And the other piece of history, obviously he was a part of the play that

Starting point is 00:14:07 shredded Joe Burroughs knee in 2020. He was the one that anyways, it was on that hit. So that part is kind of wild. Hopefully he can rekindle his his 2020 pass rush ability. but overall, like it does fit. And I do think that defensive line wise, yeah, could you use another defensive tackle, especially a really talented one? Of course.

Starting point is 00:14:32 But do you have to force it? No, I think BJ Hill and Jonathan Allen and T.J. Slayton, they're all really solid players. And then you're hoping Chris Jenkins can take a step or McKinley Jackson can take a step and you obviously can kick Shamar inside at times as well. Yeah, it'll be interesting to see the third down package because I would imagine that's John Allen, Samar, Stewart, Boye-Mafé, and Miles Murphy. And those are the four guys you put on the defensive line, I'm guessing. We'll see what kind of packages we see from them in training camp that will start to give us those hints.

Starting point is 00:15:02 Also, interesting that you mentioned Peter Woods today. Peter Woods had his pro day and went through his on-field workout before the Jonathan Allen news came out. And Al Golden was there down at Clemson for the pro day. Peter Woods, Parker, and Terrell, a number of players for the Clemson Tigers who could be picked in the first 41 picks of the NFL draft. And I say that because I'm not sure who's in play where, especially for the Bengals, but if you got a tradeback or something like that, doing your due diligence and got through quite a bit of the workout did Peter Woods. So we have athletic testing numbers that didn't appear to be excellent. but that will be a conversation, I think, for another day just on the topic of defensive tackle. Thought it was interesting.

Starting point is 00:15:48 And while there are sizable roles, like you said, for these guys this year, this is still going to be a future need. They still would like to get a lot of development for this defense, right, and add some players. And the sizable contract here, I do find interesting because I wasn't so sure what the Orlando Brown Cap impact was going to be. I'm not so sure where the Jonathan Allen cap impact is going to be, but this might be putting them in territory, James, where unless Orlando's cap hit went down, and it might have. He got quite a bit of a cash flow in the first two years of the extension

Starting point is 00:16:22 between now and 12 months from now, which means there's probably a roster bonus due early next March. But if they decided to push some of that money out, that could be part of it, but I wonder how close we're getting to that restructure that we talked about for Joe Burrow being necessary, especially if they do want to go add a linebacker, which at this point,

Starting point is 00:16:43 who knows? Your guess is as good as mine, James. It's been quiet until it hasn't been for the Bengals, this free agency. And so what's your sense as far as expectation for where the Bengals look next if they're continuing to look here in free agency? Because this is in line with the Sheldon Rankins. And those fourth day signings were like,

Starting point is 00:17:06 oh, there's a guy this available now. we like him, we like the value, even though this is a big contract, and we see a big role for him. It's kind of in line with what they've done on day four in the past. What do you see is the next move? Man, I'm hoping there's one more, one more like significant starter level move. And linebacker is tough because there's just not many. Like it's lean out there. Dre Greenlaw did just get released two day officially. So you wonder about that one?

Starting point is 00:17:32 You wonder if they're thinking about, all right, at this stage, do we target those kind of players, the Jonathan Allen's because it doesn't hurt our comp pick formula. Like I do wonder if they start like they, you start to think about that like, all right, well this player will hurt it. This player won't. This contract will,

Starting point is 00:17:47 this contract won't. They have wiggle room though is the thing. They have probable wiggle room. They're maybe playing it safe. I don't know. We'll see. And I don't know if that's on their radar. It shouldn't be.

Starting point is 00:17:59 It still shouldn't be. What I would like, I would love one more edge. And I wrote this. And I, the more I think of, about it. Like you're, you're so close to getting like a D-line room that, yeah, it might be older, but can can function and still have these, these fun packages with these young guys that can

Starting point is 00:18:19 blossom and, and yet have these proven pieces where you got to have it moments, they've been there, done that. And you're going to have injuries. And so if you can have that depth, because let's be honest, Rubin Bain may go nine. They might not like how Peter Woods tested today. Like, whoever you're thinking, like, oh, well, this guy's going to come in and I was having a conversation earlier today. And it was like, ah, you don't need another edge. Just get Ruben Bain. And it's like, well, sure. Show me the first nine picks.

Starting point is 00:18:50 Show me today on March 12th, the first nine picks. And then we can have that conversation. But we don't know. And so, like, you can show me the first 40 picks, T.J. Parker. Right. It's very similar in that line of thinking. So to me, like, what Allen does, I want that at edge to this veteran stabilizer that you can go play Cleveland week one or Baltimore week one right now if you need to and be fine with your rotation. Does it mean it's so good that it's preventing you from addressing that early in the draft?

Starting point is 00:19:22 So I think that's the happy middle ground. And when I look at this linebacker class, I just wonder like, you know, Drake Greenlaw isn't getting in the way of you drafting a linebacker. So do they make that kind of level signing? Or it's like, yeah, we like this guy. We fill the need. But we're also in on Sunny Stiles at 10 if he gets there. Or we're in on Jacob Rodriguez if he gets there at 41. And I'm just naming a couple of the many, many linebackers in this year's draft.

Starting point is 00:19:47 But those are obviously the two needs, edge linebacker. Yeah. And slot corner. I would throw in the mix. Again. Third. Third for me. But yes.

Starting point is 00:19:57 And there are some slots. You know, your boy, DeAngelo Pons, your boy, DeAngelo Pons might just be destined. Ponds to Sincey, baby. You never know. We'll see if we chat with Luke Bron here. I might set something up with him, but I asked him to expand a little bit on the good get comment. He said, 30 plus pressures holds a gap.

Starting point is 00:20:15 Okay, Vikings having an ownership bankroll crisis or else they'd have kept it. So might expand on that with Luke, but it sounds like it was mostly ownership bank rule related, which is fascinating to hear from Luke Bron, who covers the Vikings. on Lockdown Vikings. And Bengals also did an extension with Orlando Brown. Both moves happening when I was unconscious or away from the internet, as is tradition. I was sleeping. It was before I was awake.

Starting point is 00:20:44 We will get into the Orlando Brown extension to finish the show coming up next. Workplace chaos deadlines stacking up. Your inbox is overflowing in the one position you have to fill is still sitting open. When the pressure's on, you need the right hire. This is a job for Indeed, sponsored jobs. Indeed, sponsor jobs helps you reach people. people who actually fit what you're looking for, skills, experience, location. So you're not just hoping the right candidate stumbles across your post.

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Starting point is 00:21:38 All you have to do is go to Indeed.com slash podcast. Indeed.com slash podcast and let them know that Lockdown Bengals sent you. Again, that is Indeed.com slash podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Need to hire? This is a job for Indeed sponsored job. The fact that Orlando Brown got an extension from the Cincinnati Bengals isn't in and of itself surprising.

Starting point is 00:22:02 We've talked about it. I believe on this podcast, I'm pretty sure we have. haven't, then it's been a lot off there. We did. I'm going to pat us on that, but I remember definitely saying an extension is more likely than him being cut. Yeah. Because I know that that was like a thing, like they were like, oh, yeah, yeah. We did talk about it in the context of people bringing up Orlando Brown Jr. as a cut candidate. And a two-year extension, maybe mildly surprising that it's more than one year, but two years for Orlando Brown. And the timing of it to me was surprising, James. Even though, like, literally, last night we talked about this and I told you that I'd heard something, I did not realize that meant imminent when I did hear that his name came up as an extension candidate.

Starting point is 00:22:42 I thought this was going to be after. It was done. It was done. Yeah. It was done at that point, which is probably why I heard about it. But the money will be very interesting. Very interesting to me to see the structure. It's not a raise for Orlando Brown.

Starting point is 00:22:58 Two years, 32 million, right in line with the 16 million he was making. before. So when you account for inflation, it's actually a bit of a pay decrease in that sense. But he gets to keep a $16 million number with really good cash flow over the next 12 months. So really fascinated to see, don't have enough information yet to see what the cap impact is going to be. I imagine there will be some sort of cap impact because of the Jonathan Allen deal coming on the heels of that news. And the Bengals maybe aren't in the market for a left tackle, a pick 10. If that was a backup plan

Starting point is 00:23:33 they were considering with this extension being done and more stability in place here for the offensive line in some way, shape, or form with Orlando Brown locked up for a couple more years

Starting point is 00:23:44 and he finished season strong for the most part until he saw Miles Garrett, which will never be a good matchup for him or any other left tackle in the NFL. Yeah, I'm not worried about that. Look, here's why I like this. And there's...

Starting point is 00:23:56 he brings stability and you could do a hell of a lot worse and at a spot like left tackle unless you know you're going to upgrade it why roll the dice into potentially something worse like has a good relationship with Joe Burrow Joe Burrow was excited about this I know this is something that was was planned at least on one side you never know how Mike Brown and company are going to do it but Orlando Brown Jr. was representing himself I remember remember talking to him. I go to these guys. I'm like, you should go get paid or you should go get an extension. And I just asked him last year. I was like, hey, is now the time he's like, no, next year? And he goes out there and he plays 17 games. And I thought he was pretty darn

Starting point is 00:24:40 solid. And we can't say all of the, oh, well, it's the best offensive line Joe Burroughs had. And man, they were really stable. And did you see the pocket he had? Do you see how they, they were able to do things for Joe Flacco and keep Joe Flacco upright? And really, from Joe Flacco on, it felt like the offensive line was was starting to cook and part of that was Reisner emerging late in the flaco experience in the beginning of Burrow coming back but this unit is solid and do I think that Orlando is dedicated enough to age well enough to be one of the lower paid veteran starting offensive tackles and certainly certainly starting left tackles in the league and that's what he'll end up being like

Starting point is 00:25:24 this is going to be a value, even if he only sees one of the two years of it because of the way it's structured or because the play drops off. It is not, I would have done this every single day if on the Bengals because it, there's no way they can't get out of it after 2027, like we know they'll be able to. And at the same time, you lock up your left tackle and you know he's going to be here this year and next year. So it just, it makes a lot of sense. It takes that need off the board a bit. And I say all of that and I'm excited about the player and I'm also scared to death to see if that cap hit went up. That $22 million-ish cap hit that he had this year. I do not want that to rise in this scenario. It should drop. It should free up space. That space they saved on

Starting point is 00:26:12 Orlando should be going to Jonathan Allen right now so they can go get that past rusher of my background one and still feel comfortable. But Jake, as we talked about with Boye-Maffa, they haven't always done what they should when it comes to the cap. Yeah, we'll have to see what the structure looks like. As far as the player, I think Orlando is who he is. There are going to be pass rushers to give him trouble. I have talked about that I'm less excited for the Trey Hendrickson, Orlando Brown matchup than I am,

Starting point is 00:26:40 than I would have been for the Max Crosby, Amarius Mons matchup. But Orlando is getting paid for what he is. He's getting paid to be a stable, starting caliber left tackle. in the NFL. I think that's what he is. I don't think he's necessarily going to ever sniff an all-pro here with the Bengals down the stretch of his career as the Bengals continue to get deals done with players into their 30s, which I find a little bit fascinating as these deals have landed on the defensive interior and a tackle for Orlando Brown and on the offensive interior

Starting point is 00:27:15 with Ted Karas. Those are the places, and I guess even Dalton Riser would count for this now, right? He's going to be on the other side of 30 at some point on this contract. I think the 30 thing is kind of overblown at this point. Like, Trent Brown was over 30. Like there's a lot of guys. Ted Karras, they've given extensions to like, Trump Brown was a one year cheap deal.

Starting point is 00:27:36 John Allen is a big deal for them to do. B.J. Hill was a big deal for them to do. Orlando Brown now is a relatively big deal for them to do for players that seems to be breaking the mold a little bit. Some more known commodities either to the Bengals or John

Starting point is 00:27:51 Allen, I think, just very well known for who he is and who he has been in the NFL, very high-profile player. So I do find that fascinating. Give me Joey both as the next 30-year-old. We'll see if these moves hit is a thing. There is risk when you're talking about players at this age. It's not necessarily all sunshine and rainbows if we're being totally objective here. There is risk to these deals.

Starting point is 00:28:19 We'll see what version of Jonathan Allen will. we're going to see in Cincinnati. And Orlando Brown, as you mentioned, how does he continue as age develops? Father time undefeated. You ever know when it's coming for you? Hopefully they get those a couple more solid more years there out of Orlando Brown.

Starting point is 00:28:37 It continues to be the guy he's been. I agree with you. I don't think there's much reason to think there's an imminent decline there, like an immediate falloff going to happen for Orlando. But that's a risk that you take when you talk about this age group. Yeah, I think. the key is just going to be for him to stay as explosive and quick as he can, right? He's never going to be quick.

Starting point is 00:28:58 But he's obviously big. He's obviously strong. If he can be, stay nimble enough on his feet, I mean, he said he wanted to play till 40. That Trey Hendrick's a matchup, he said, I'm here to kick ass, right? Like, so he's ready for it. And I like that mindset. The nastiness he brings in, in 2024, I was really critical of the offense. offensive line so much so that they took notice and said something to me. And we went back in

Starting point is 00:29:25 fort. Me and Ted did. Because I would be like, hey, can someone defend Joe? And I talked about it on this pod a ton. In Orlando, with that broken leg, he ended up playing through partially, through part of the season. He did mix it up the moment he got back. So like there are things that he brings just in general. Of course, he's going to need some help against these higher end at rushers. And he's not during this contract, he's not going to be better than Amari. MIMS, even though he's making more right now because MIMS is on a rookie deal. I understand that. Guess what Mims is going to be asking for when he signs?

Starting point is 00:29:59 30 million per year. Like, it's going to be crazy. And I might be exaggerating a little, but probably not by much. And so this is a good deal for a solid player that helps you in every single way and is still solid on the field. Yep. And potential captain, maybe? Please lower the cap hit.

Starting point is 00:30:18 Yeah, I think he will be. Please lower the cap hit. Come on, Katie. Don't do me like that. It would honestly be kind of crazy if that cap hit goes up. I also felt that way about some deals they've done in the past. So I guess we'll wait and see on those details. We'll wait and see on the exact details of the Jonathan Allen deal and get a better idea of how they've spent their cash,

Starting point is 00:30:43 how that's looking as far as what we expect their cash budget to be, what we expect their cap situation to look like. because, as I said yesterday, James, as long as they had that restructure lever to pool with Joe Burrow, if there's a player they want to go sign, the cap and cash are never going to be an excuse this year. That excuse no longer exists when you have the ability to restructure your quarterback and save $20 million in cap space.

Starting point is 00:31:07 And you can fit literally any player in the NFL into $20 million of cap space. So we'll see how that develops here as we're continuing to keep our eye on the Bengals and Free Agency finally getting active again here on Thursday with a big contract for a veteran who has been great in the past and John Allen will see how he does

Starting point is 00:31:30 with the Bengals. Should at least give them some past rush juice. That's the summary. We'll continue to have you covered here on Lockdown Bengals as the Bengals navigate the rest of free agency and until next time. Thanks for listening. Ho-Day. And have a good.

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