The Cincinnati Bengals have patched some holes in a porous defense with the signings of safety Bryan Cook, edge Boye Mafe, and defensive tackle Jonathon Allen.
But the elephant in the room is the linebacker position, arguably the biggest reason Cincinnati gave up a ton of yards in 2025.
Though there were some talented linebackers on the free agent market, it appears the Bengals never seriously targeted any of them.
According to The Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr., Bengals linebackers coach Mike Hodges and
others within the organization were expecting the front office to make some moves to help support their two young players, Demetrius Knight Jr. and Barrett Carter, who were thrust into the starting lineup as rookies.
But those moves didn’t happen. Here’s what Dehner Jr. wrote:
[Hodges] also expected to see additions. Everyone we talked to did. Alas, a big investment never came. Two names that lived near the top of the list of many, Kaden Elliss and Leo Chenal, didn’t draw as much attention internally. Elliss’ money got driven up above their value ($11 million per year), while Chenal wasn’t a top target.
Now that the best linebackers have signed elsewhere, it looks like Knight and Carter will be expected to mature quickly under Hodges’ guidance.
