It would appear the Cincinnati Bengals will miss on the guy who was likely their top free-agent target.
Sunday, the day before legal tampering started — two days before free agency actually starts — Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady announced he was un-retiring.
Shortly after, the Buccaneers and center Ryan Jensen agreed on a three-year extension worth $39 million.
It was a pretty badly kept secret the Bengals liked Jensen. If they nabbed him and upgraded one of the most important spots on the line, they could have used other free-agency signings and draft picks for the guard spots and right tackle.
Now it’s on to Plan B and beyond — and it’s hardly time to panic.
Jensen would’ve been a superb signing, of course. And following it up by cutting Trey Hopkins and saving roughly $6 million would’ve lessened the massive buy.
But it’s not the end of the world, either. There’s a reality where Jensen’s huge pricetag meant they didn’t sign another big name for the line. Missing on him could mean re-allocating that budget to multiple top linemen, or even one guard and a cornerback, for example.
Rest assured the Bengals already had/have contingencies in place — everybody knew Brady wasn’t really retired, right?
While Jensen was the top name, the Bengals don’t lack for superb options on the market this early in the game:
