The door might not be shut on the Geno Atkins era for the Cincinnati Bengals just yet.
Cincinnati cut the modern franchise legend earlier this offseason in a cost-cutting measure after big spending in free agency.
But director of player personnel Duke Tobin told Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com that a reunion could always happen:
“Geno is one of the greatest players in franchise history and one of the best defensive tackle of the last decade. He gave us what he had last year … We’ll see if there are things that can be worked out. If it is, great. If not, I think we’ve got other guys that can fill the role.”
Publicly, the Bengals have always sounded like a team that believes Atkins has plenty of good football left but suffered an injury last year before the season even started.
Presumably, the Bengals suggested a reworked deal so that Atkins wasn’t the team’s highest cap hit and nothing worked out for the two sides. Either way, if Atkins has a soft market after the draft and in to training camps next year, he could always end up back where he’s familiar, playing with a revamped unit on a rotational basis.
