In following with that analogy, we’ve used a 1-to-5 star ranking of the 15 free agents. But unlike their rankings coming out of high school, these are not based on their talent level but rather on how important their retention should be for the Bengals.
5 STARS
Andrew Whitworth, tackle
With the team’s top two draft picks from 2015, Cedric Ogbuehi and Jake Fisher, performing somewhere between struggling and developing, the Bengals cannot afford to let Andrew Whitworth walk.
One year removed from a Pro Bowl appearance, Whitworth is still one of the top tackles in the league at age 35. Pro Football Focus lists him as the top ranked free agent with a grade of 91.3.
His leadership and experience only add to his value.
But retaining him will create a dilemma. Do the Bengals honor his desire to play left tackle, or do they move him to guard and try to work Ogbuehi into the role they envisioned for him when they made him a first-round pick?
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Kevin Zeitler, guard
The 2012 first-round pick made $8 million last when the Bengals exercised the fifth-year option on him, and Zeitler will be looking for something a little north of that over four years.
Pittsburgh’s David DeCastro, who went three picks before Zeitler, got $50 million over five years last offseason, while Oakland’s Kelechi Osemele, a 2012 second-round pick, signed for $58.5 million over five seasons.
DeCastro and Osemele were voted to the Pro Bowl, while Zeitler is a second alternate. Zeitler is PFF's top-ranked guard in free agency, and he's 12th overall with a grade of 87.1
The Bengals can’t afford to go into 2017 with another question mark on an offensive line that under performed last year.
4 STARS
Dre Kirkpatrick, cornerback
The 2012 first-round pick continues to improve, but he’s not among the top tier at his position the way Whitworth and Zeitler are.
Plus the Bengals have their other starting corner, Adam Jones, under contract, along with 2014 first-rounder Darqueze Dennard, 2016 first-round William Jackson III. There are questions with all three. Jones is unpredictable, Dennard unproven and Jackson unseen after missing all of last year with a pectoral injury.
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But there's enough depth there to overcome the loss Kirkpatrick, who is being PFF's 13th-ranked free agent corner behind aging former Bengals Terence Newman (38) and Leon Hall (32).
Some team will throw big money at Kirkpatrick, and it’s doubtful the Bengals will be able to retain him if they also sign Whitworth and Zeitler.
Rex Burkhead, running back
It took four years and an ACL injury to his good friend Giovani Bernard for Burkhead to get a chance to prove what he can do when he gets regular snaps, and the timing was perfect for the 2013 sixth-round pick.
You could almost hear the offers ringing up with each passing game, with Burkhead punctuating the five-game run with a career-high 119 yards and two touchdowns in the season finale against Baltimore.
With starter Jeremy Hill coming off back-to-back disappointing seasons and the questions surrounding whether a sharp-cutting back like Bernard can fully recover from knee surgery, the Bengals should try to do everything they can to bring back Burkhead, who also has great value on special teams.
But not only are the Bengals unlikely to be able to give Burkhead, PFF’s sixth-ranked free agent halfback, what he would get elsewhere. They also can’t promise the type of playing time that will be offered by most of the suitors who come calling.
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3 STARS
Brandon Thompson, defensive tackle
The 2012 third-round pick missed all of 2016 while recovering from the ACL he tore in the 2015 season finale.
He's been a solid part of the rotation on the defensive line and still has plenty of upside and shouldn't command a ton of competing offers given that he's a stunning 58th out of 58 interior defensive linemen in PFF's rankings.
With last year’s fourth-round pick Andrew Billings missing his rookie season due to a knee injury, Thompson’s value outweighs his price tag.
Cedric Peerman, running back/special teams
While the injury to Bernard was the biggest variable, the fact that Bengals elected to make Peerman the player they brought back from Injured Reserve instead of first-round pick Jackson shows how valuable he is to the team.
Peerman made the Pro Bowl as a special teams player in 2015. And his absence for the first 11 games this year was big reason while the Bengals special teams struggled early.
It’s not surprising that Peerman ranks near the bottom of PFF’s halfback free agent rankings. He’s only logged 29 carries the last four years and 70 in his eight-year career.
He’s not likely to draw a lot of interest, and the Bengals should be able to bring him back.
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T.J. Johnson, offensive lineman
The 2013 seventh-round draft pick is the only restricted free agent on the list, which means the Bengals will have five days to match any offer Johnson receives from another team.
Johnson has value regardless of whether the Bengals re-sign Zeitler, offering depth and flexibility with his ability to play center or guard.
Johnson made his first career start in the season finale, and played well at left guard for the injured Clint Boling. It’s hard to envision Johnson getting an offer the Bengals wouldn’t match.
2 STARS
Brandon LaFell, wide receiver
If there was a 2.5-star ranking, LaFell would be there. He had one of the best years of his career and really helped keep the offense functional over the final seven games following the loss of A.J. Green.
But Green should be back to 100 percent in 2017, Tyler Boyd showed he belongs during his rookie year, and fellow rookie Cody Core also proved he can be a productive piece.
While LaFell had four catches of at least 44 yards, he’s not the prototypical deep threat the Bengals need. They likely can find a field-stretching receiver in the draft for a similar price – or less – than it would take to re-sign LaFell.
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Wallace Gilberry, defensive end
Gilberry returned to the Bengals mid-season after being placed on Injured Reserve with Detroit and ended up with 2.5 sacks in five games.
Gilberry is another clubhouse leader and key role player the Bengals, so they should make an offer to keep him. But it’s not going to greatly alter the direction of the defense if he elects to walk away, as he did for a one-year, $1.25 deal with Detroit last year.
Domata Peko, defensive tackle
Peko has value as a run stuffer who unselfishly eats up blocks to allow the linebackers to come flying downhill to make tackles.
While he routinely draws low grades from PFF, he did have a career-high 5.0 sacks in 2015.
At 32, he knows he doesn’t have much time left, but he wants to keep playing. And there could be a role for him even if the team also brings back Thompson.
But he’s a guy whose personality would probably be missed more than his play, making him expendable with so many other free agents on the roster.
1 STAR
Eric Winston, tackle
Normally a veteran like Winston would have a little more value on a team with struggling youngsters such as Fisher and Ogbuehi. But even Winston’s wealthy of experience didn’t offer much of an upgrade while he was rotating with Ogbuehi in the middle of the season.
He’s a great leader and offers unique value as the NFLPA president, but this a maturing Bengals roster that doesn’t lack for leadership.
Randy Bullock, kicker
Marvin Lewis has said there will be an open competition at kicker next year, and the Bengals can stage those auditions with or without Bullock.
He did make 5 of 6 field goals in his three games with the Bengals, but the miss was a huge one when he pushed a potential game-winning 43-yarder wide right on the final play in Houston. Of the five he made, only one was longer than 24 yards.
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Chykie Brown, cornerback
Brown only played in three games before suffering a season-ending knee injury Nov. 27 in Baltimore, and with Jackson III due back and the intrigue surrounding KeiVarae Russell, the third-round pick of Kansas City the Bengals signed off waivers, there isn’t a great need to bring back Brown.
Karlos Dansby, linebacker
Dansby says he has plenty left in the tank, but the tape says otherwise.
The Bengals need to work on developing 2016 third-round pick Nick Vigil and 2015 third-rounder P.J. Dawson, and keeping Dansby around would only slow that process.
Margus Hunt, defensive end
The Bengals gambled by using a second-round pick on Hunt in 2013, and they lost. Hunt never developed into the player they thought he could be, and there’s no reason to think a spike in performance is around the corner.
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