3 Bengals free agents who likely won’t be back next season

Riley Reiff is on the wrong side of 30 and missed out in this postseason run

Ultimately, the Bengals picked their poison in the 2021 NFL Draft at No. 5 overall. While they would not have gotten to Super Bowl 56 without the brilliant play of stud wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, poor pass protection is what hurt this team in the end. Burrow was sacked seven times vs. the Los Angeles Rams. Had he have had better protection, Cincinnati could have won the game.

So to offset not taking an offensive tackle at No. 5 last spring, the Bengals opted to go with the veteran Riley Reiff. While he has been a solid player in the NFL for years, the idea of him has always been better than its reality. In his age-33 season out of Iowa, Reiff missed five of the last six regular-season games, as well as the Bengals’ entire postseason run. His absence was felt.

However, the Bengals are not likely to pay up to get him on a second contract after he missed the bulk of their most important games of the season. Yes, the Bengals will address the offensive line aggressively in free agency and in the draft, but do not expect them to pay top-dollar to keep Reiff around for a second contract. He might return, but it would likely be for pennies on the dollar.

While the Reiff investment worked out initially, it did not pan out when the team needed it to.