The Cincinnati Bengals did incredibly well for themselves on the first day of free agency’s legal tampering period by agreeing to terms with safety Geno Stone.
Fixing safety was one of the prominent focuses of this offseason for the Bengals, and they appear to do so in a big way with Stone, who is all of 24 years old and classified by the Ravens as one of their best seventh-round picks ever.
That wasn’t just the Ravens gassing up one of their own players either — and Joe Burrow himself and the Bengals have had to deal with Stone’s crafty play for years.
One look at the numbers says quite a bit:
Geno Stone in 2023:
🐅 7 INTs
🐅 0.30 yards allowed per coverage snap pic.twitter.com/WbR7DA2eR5— PFF CIN Bengals (@PFF_Bengals) March 11, 2024
This is a standard-fare Bengals signing, too. At two years and just $15 million, it’s right in line with other small gambles on the likes of Chidobe Awuzie and Vonn Bell that have paid off massively in recent years.
There’s no reason to think this isn’t going to be a hit for the defense, too. Lou Anarumo loves his three-safety looks, so Stone can be on the field with Dax Hill and Jordan Battle in certain packages.
More importantly, Stone can outright serve as a starter. There are some questions about Hill’s long-term position. The former first-rounder could end up as the slot corner. If Stone becomes the long-term starter at safety next to Battle, the Bengals emerge as big winners.
Notably, this doesn’t necessarily take safety off the board for the Bengals in the middle to late rounds of the draft either, as depth remains a concern. But getting the starting two or three names right after the fumble that was losing Vonn Bell and Jessie Bates in the same offseason was the priority.
Stone, on paper, stops the bleeding and can help the secondary get back on track.
