After a quiet first hour or so of the onset of the legal tampering period of free agency, the Cincinnati Bengals made a couple of splashy moves to bolster their defense. Around 3:45 PM ET on Monday afternoon, multiple insiders announced the signing of safety Bryan Cook, marking his return to The Queen City after playing for the UC Bearcats.
While the Bengals were in on John Franklin-Myers and eventually lost out on him to the Titans, Cincinnati didn’t waste much time pivoting to someone else on the defensive
line. Super Bowl LX Champion Edge defender Boye Mafe was reported to have signed a three-year, $60 million contract with the Bengals shortly after the Cook news dropped.
While we know some of the contract details for each of these exciting defenders, there are still nuances to discover. Regardless, let’s take a look at some grades for each of these reported signings.
Bryan Cook
Reported Contract:
3 years, $40.25 million, $18.1 million in Year 1
Outlook:
While the Bengals gushed about Jordan Battle all offseason, they needed a stable and physical presence as a replacement for Geno Stone. Cook provides just that for Al Golden’s defense and gets to come back to his hometown area to play pro football.
Cook hasn’t been a huge ballhawk, in terms of career interceptions (three in four seasons), but he’s a disruptor and known as an immensely-solid tackler. Cook’s overall PFF score put him at No. 4 overall in the NFL for safeties, as he posted 80.0-plus grades against both the pass and the run last year.
The former Bearcats defensive back has just 11 total missed tackles the past two seasons, as opposed to his 158 total wrap-ups in that span. By comparison, Stone had 26 missed tackles and Battle had 21 of his own last season.
Cook’s presence should be felt throughout the entire defense. He can aid in the development and proper alignments for the young duo of linebackers in front of him (much like Jessie Bates III did in Cincinnati), while also providing the needed stability to allow Battle to continue his ascension as a player.
Grade: A
It may have been a predictable signing because of the city-fit and pre-free agency reports noting the team’s likely interest in Cook, but it was a sorely needed signing to bolster the defense. Missed tackles were a plague last year for the Bengals that was reminiscent of the 1990s, and Cook should greatly remedy that problem.
He has also been very durable throughout his career, missing just four regular-season games in four seasons. Bengals and Bearcats radio play-by-play man called him a “warrior,” and despite all of his skills, he’s a two-time Super Bowl Champion, raising the expectations bar for the Bengals’ defense.
Side note: I get personal satisfaction when the Bengals poach good players from championship-level squads.
This move also opens things up for Cincinnati at No. 10 overall. Caleb Downs will be of interest, but the Bengals aren’t entering this class with an immediate need to use a high pick on a safety.
Boye Mafe
Reported Contract:
3 years, $60 million
Outlook:
As mentioned above, Cincinnati was initially looking at pass-rush help in the form of Franklin-Myers, but set their sights on Mafe after the JFM talks didn’t work out. Like Cook, Mafe brings Championship standards to the defense and has an explosive athletic profile.
When it comes to Mafe and his impact on a defense, you have to look beneath the high-level stats. Mafe only netted 2.5 sacks last year, but he’s a pressure demon and was one of the more coveted Edge defenders on the market.
While the market currently remains quiet on Trey Hendrickson, his departure from Cincinnati remains imminent. As they did in 2021 with Hendrickson in free agency, Cincinnati is banking on that pressure rate and further breakout seasons from Mafe as he joins a group with former first-round picks Myles Murphy and Shemar Stewart—also with high athletic profiles.
Grade: A-
While the 2025 sack numbers may be a little concerning if you choose to overlook his other disruptive data points, one can look to his 2023-2024 seasons, wherein he netted 15 total sacks. And, in 2023, Mafe racked up a quarterback sack in seven consecutive games, totaling nine for the year.
The money is a little big, but it’s also what the market is demanding, so the Bengals stepped up. I absolutely love the team adding a combined three Super Bowl Championships to their defense with their first two moves, and many well-respected analysts also really like this move for Cincinnati.
If Cincinnati can somehow find a way to get another impact Edge or interior lineman with pass-rush ability, this signing can become an absolute home run. Not only have the Bengals addressed needs, but they’ve done so with higher-tier free agents, proving their commitment to rebuilding the defense.
What grade would you give the Bengals for signing both Bryan Cook and Boye Mafe?
