And while some point to Hendrickson’s elite fellow linemen on the Saints (four-time Pro Bowler Cam Jordan, first-rounder Marcus Davenport, David Onyemata’s 6.5 sacks at tackle) as well as the Saints always-have-the-lead offense and wonder if Hendrickson can do it in Cincinnati, the Bengals see 13.5 sacks as 13.5 sacks.
Only one player has hit that number in Cincinnati (Carlos Dunlap) and while Lawson did his damage of 5.5 sacks and 32 quarterback hits on 728 snaps last season, Hendrickson had 13.5 sacks and 25 hits on 558 plays. With 18 sacks in his last 28 games, they believe they have one of the league’s best young pass rushers just as he’s beginning to ascend.
Youth also appeared to be a factor in the signing of the 6-0, 202-pound Awuzie. He’s a steady player whose first three years in the league were solid before he missed half the games last year with a hamstring problem and COVID-19. He’s built a rep for reliability and being where he’s supposed to be. Awuzie, who’ll be 26 on Opening Day, was rated higher on ESPN’s board than Jackson, a guy that turns 29 in the middle of this season.
Hilton, 27, completed a long climb Tuesday. It began as an undrafted rookie out of Mississippi in 2016 who was waived by the Jaguars late in his rookie season before he ended up on the Steelers practice squad the next year.
By the time that season was over, he led all NFL cornerbacks in Pro Football Focus charts with 15 pressures as an ace blitzer. He played on a second-round tender last year before he reportedly agreed to a four-year, $24 million deal with the Bengals.
But he also has an eye for the ball. In the last four seasons he’s got seven interceptions, nearly half the total of the Bengals cornerbacks in that same stretch (15).
The Bengals paid the price for being active early in free agency. The three deals are worth about $106 million and took up nearly all of the $20 million under this year’s salary cap they had allotted for new players. But they can still make room by adjusting the contract of eight-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Geno Atkins, set to count more than $14 million, as well as some other veterans. They’ve also allotted about $11 million for the rookie pool they don’t have to use until May.
The Bengals countered the loss of one of their top special teams players, tight end Cethan Carter to the Miami Dolphins, by extending their best teams player, Brandon Wilson, for two more years.
