The Cincinnati Bengals didn’t do much besides tag A.J. Green on the first day of legal tampering ahead of 2020 NFL free agency.
Other teams took advantage.
The Miami Dolphins, for example, swooped in and agreed to sign Bengals safety Clayton Fejedelem to a three-year deal, per his agent.
That doesn’t sound like the biggest loss at face value. But Fejedelem was a special-teams ace for Darrin Simmons, the special teams coordinator and assistant head coach. He’s been a Pro Bowl player and rotated into the base defense at times.
While the Bengals will surely employ the next-man-up philosophy on special teams, constantly swapping out players last year is part of the reason even Simmons’ unit struggled. Now it loses a noteworthy member on the first day of legal tampering.
There is a disclaimer to keep in mind: While it might’ve disappointed fans to see the inaction of Monday, Fejedelem perhaps wanted other things besides cash — like a starting gig in the base defense in Miami. Either way, it’s a notable loss.
