The Cincinnati Bengals have made it clear they want to get an extension done with running back Joe Mixon.
It also might make sense for the team to dip back into free agency and sign recently released guard Larry Warford.
As we’ve documented, Warford was a cap casualty but also soured his relationship with the New Orleans Saints down the stretch last year. He also suffered an injury late.
But — borderline surefire upgrades to the offensive line don’t usually up and become available in May.
It comes down to the issue of money, which is where we — somewhat — should defer to the ideas of the team’s official website.
Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com wrote the following: “The Bengals couldn’t pay that number, either, or any other relatively big number as they mull extensions to Green and Mixon. They’d have to cut a guy they like or not play one of the kids they like or both.”
The musings there are typically quiet looks behind the curtain as to the organization’s thinking. So we can sit here and proclaim the salary cap is a myth (it mostly is) all we want — if the team doesn’t want to pay the cash for Warford and free up a roster spot, that’s where things stand.
As things really stand, the Bengals have about $25 million in cap, per Spotrac before accounting for rookie contracts. While an A.J. Green extension isn’t going to eat into that further as he’s already sitting on a cap hit of $17.685 million, a Mixon extension would.
From our outsider’s perspective, Mixon’s roughly $1.7 million cap hit could balloon in the $6-7 million range on an extension — and Duke Tobin has said he wants to get that done.
Maybe inside the organization is boils down not to whether there will be enough space for a Mixon deal and signing Warford so much as it is whether they’ll be comfortable with the cap wiggle room after the fact. This is especially the case if Warford can prove he’s healthy and drums up a bidding war.
While this doesn’t have to be a pick-one scenario, it should be interesting to open up the discussion:
