The NFL tries to help out teams that lose major free agents who aren’t able to go out and replace them via free agency. It does so with compensatory picks.
To do this, there is a big complicated formula that takes into account how well a free agent did on their new team. A major factor is average annual salary (APY). Usually, teams can cancel out losses fairly easily with the signing of their own.
This year, the Cincinnati Bengals will not be receiving any of these picks.
The team didn’t really lose
any major players that signed big contracts or went on to star with other teams.
They were also fairly active, signing quite a few low to mid-level unrestricted free agents to cover any losses.
We will see how next year works out, as Trey Hendrickson is set to leave via free agency. The last time the Bengals received a major compensatory pick was when safety Jessie Bates left, and the team received a third-round pick.
