The Cincinnati Bengals might be in one of the toughest spots in the NFL. Yes, they have Joe Burrow and a good amount of talent around him, but some of the team's best supplementary pieces are currently free agents or nearing free agency. Tee Higgins is a free agent, while Ja'Marr Chase and Trey Hendrickson are one year away from being on the open market.
In an ideal world, the Bengals will find a way to keep all three of those stars alongside Burrow, but the NFL's salary cap will make that tough. The salary cap makes it difficult for the Bengals to justify keeping all of those stars around Burrow, and yet, that's exactly what Cincinnati is attempting to do, according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.
Keeping the stars in town isn't impossible, but it makes building the rest of the roster much more difficult. If the Bengals are successful in attempts to keep Higgins, Chase and Hendrickson, they'll have to cut at least these three players to make the money work.
3. Zack Moss should probably be cut regardless of what happens
The Bengals gave Zack Moss a two-year deal last offseason expecting him to take the reins from Joe Mixon, who was traded to the Houston Texans. Moss had control of the backfield at the beginning of the year but he struggled and wound up missing each of Cincinnati's last nine games due to injury.
Prior to the injury, Moss had 242 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns on 74 attempts and averaged just 3.3 yards per carry. His struggles led to Cincinnati giving more reps to second-year back Chase Brown, who looked a whole lot more comfortable than Moss.
With Brown still under contract, it makes little sense to pay Zack Moss the $4.8 million he's owed in 2025 regardless of what happens with that star trio. The Bengals can save over $3 million by cutting him, and can find a cheaper backup to Brown either in the draft or in free agency.
2. The Bengals wouldn't miss Alex Cappa too much
The Bengals signed Alex Cappa to a four-year, $40 million deal following the 2021 campaign. At the time of the deal bringing Cappa, an offensive lineman who started on a team that won the Super Bowl a year prior, to Cincinnati was exciting, but he hasn't quite lived up to the billing.
This past season saw Cappa struggle mightily. He had a 50.5 PFF grade, good for 110th out of 135 offensive guards. As if that isn't bad enough, Cappa allowed eight sacks, placing him 134th out of 135 offensive guards in that category. He contributed to what was a subpar offensive line protecting Burrow.
The 30-year-old has a $10.2 million cap hit for the 2025 season, but the Bengals can save $8 million of it by cutting him. Considering how he performed this past season and for much of his contract, parting ways should be a no-brainer.
1. It's hard to justify Sam Hubbard's cap hit if the Bengals extend their stars
Sam Hubbard has been a staple on Cincinnati's defensive line ever since the team selected him in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft. Hubbard has been a solid starter opposite Hendrickson, but his 2024 campaign left a lot to be desired.
The 29-year-old had just two sacks (tied for the lowest mark of his career), 41 tackles (fewest since his rookie season), and three tackles for loss (fewest of his career) in 14 games played. While there's reason to believe he can bounce back, the Bengals will have to make tough decisions if they want to pay their stars.
Hubbard has a hefty $11.5 million cap hit. Cutting him would save the Bengals all but $2 million of that cap hit. It'd be nice to keep Hubbard around and see if he can be the solid edge rusher he had been prior to the 2024 campaign, but extending their stars will make it much tougher to keep Hubbard around as well, especially when his contract is up after the 2025 campaign. The Bengals will have to try to find better value on their defensive line, whether that's realistic or not.