3 surprise cuts the Bengals could make this offseason

1. CB Trae Waynes

Right off the bat, the three-year, $42 million deal the Bengals gave Waynes last offseason didn’t look that great. The deal was loaded up in the first two years ($31 million), but making Waynes a top-10 paid corner in the league was ill-conceived at best.

Probably due to the COVID-19 pandemic putting limits on everything, but still mysteriously, Waynes didn’t take his physical and officially sign with the Bengals until July. Then an August pectoral injury that was first lined up to cost him a couple months required surgery, and he missed the entire season. Without their biggest signing in the secondary, Cincinnati were 19th in the league against the pass and similarly middle of the pack in other areas vs. the passing game. It’s worth wondering how much impact Waynes have made, as barely a top-50 graded cornerback by Pro Football Focus in 2019.

If the Bengals were to cut Waynes this offseason, just one year into his deal, they’d take on $10 million in dead money from a $15.8 million 2021 cap hit to just keep him and hope he’s healthy. He’s due a $2 million roster bonus on March 22, and if they made him a post-June 1 cut they’d clear $10.8 million in cap space with just $5 million in dead money. With the cap space they have, waiting to officially cut Waynes wouldn’t have to prevent any other free agent signings.