Bengals must play cards right to return

The Cincinnati Bengals have the main piece, the piece every NFL team wants. That’s the quarterback. The Franchise Quarterback. The Bengals have Joe Burrow. He’s the foundation.

And despite the Bengals’ 23-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LVI on Sunday, there’s every reason to believe that with Burrow at the helm, Cincinnati should be in prime position for another run at the NFL title next season. For many seasons to come, actually. That is if the Bengals play their cards right.

I know, I know. The Bengals are owned by Mike Brown, a wellknown skinflint who rarely opens his wallet. So everyone says. Only here’s the thing: One reason Cincinnati made it to SoFi Stadium is because Brown signed a slew of free agents over the past two years, especially on defense.

The Bengals signed edge rusher Trey Hendrickson, who recorded 14 sacks this season. They signed defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi, who was having a terrific year before being injured in the AFC wild-card game. They signed slot corner Mike Hilton and cornerback Chidobe Awuize to go with safety Vonn Bell, a free agent signing the year before. They signed their own defensive end Sam Hubbard to a long-term deal.

They also signed right offensive tackle Riley Reiff, a veteran with the Lions and Vikings, who unfortunately went on IR at the end of the season. Reiff’s absence loomed large. Burrow was sacked 51 times in 17 regular-season games. He was sacked 19 more times in four postseason games, including six times by the Rams in the second half of the Super Bowl.

Obviously, the Bengals need offensive line help. They needed it before the 2021 season, but correctly chose LSU wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase with the No. 5 overall pick instead of Oregon offensive lineman Penei Sewell. With a second-round pick, the Bengals chose Jackson Carman, an offensive guard at Clemson who proved to be more of a project than immediate help.

No doubt the Bengals will be looking to fortify the O-line when this year’s draft begins April 28. This is believed to be a strong offensive line draft. The problem is that most of the projected top-tier talent — Alabama offensive tackle Evan Neal; North Carolina State offensive tackle Ikem Ekwonu; Mississippi State offensive tackle Charles Cross — figures to be gone by the time the Bengals pick at No. 31.

That leaves the free agent route. The Bengals have the money to spend. They rank fourth in the league in available cap space at $55.8 million. And intriguing candidates are expected to be on the market: Tampa Bay center Ryan Jensen, Washington guard Brandon Scherff, San Francisco guard Laken Tomlinson, to name a few.

The Bengals are young. Burrow turned 25 in December. Chase turns 22 in March. Tee Higgins is 23. Joe Mixon turns 26 in July. Tyler Boyd and Hendrickson are each 27. Hubbard turns 27 in June. The Bengals still need to re-sign safety Jessie Bates, who is only 24. If anything, Cincinnati’s success was a year or two ahead of schedule.

Then again, this is not an exact science. When you say that, at 25, Burrow will be in many more Super Bowls, people are quick to point to Dan Marino. The Miami Dolphins reached the Super Bowl in their legendary quarterback’s second season. Marino was 23. The Dolphins lost to Joe Montana and the 49ers. Marino never made it back. The Dolphins reached the playoffs eight more times before Marino retired after the 1999 season and never advanced past the AFC Championship Game.

Meanwhile, Mike Brown is 86 years old. The son of the legendary Paul Brown has been a football man all his life. Surely he would love nothing better than to win a Super Bowl. This year proved he has the most important piece. We’ll see how the Bengals play their cards.