Is it possible to eliminate all the headaches while upgrading the roster?

Here's my attempt:

Resign

Reggie Nelson

Frostee Rucker

Brandon Johnson

Manny Lawson

Anthony Collins

Pat Simms

Jonathan Fanene

Mike Nugent

Donald Lee

Bobbie Williams

Do NOT Reign

Nate Livings

Mike McGlynn

Andre Caldwell

Jerome Simpson

Cedric Benson

Gilbril Wilson

Bo Scaife

Dennis Roland

Adam Jones

Cut/Release/Trade

Chris Crocker
Brandon Tate
Rey Malauga

Free Agent acquisitions

I’d obviously would really love to have Carl Nicks, Ben Grubbs, Brandon Carr, Marcus Colsten and a few others, but I honestly just do NOT see it happening and for this exercise I decided to be some what conservative with my selections. Therefore, here are a few other free agents that have above average skills and should be upgrades at their respective positions. They are not going to be overly expensive players but they are NOT exactly going to be cheap ones either. (Each free agent listed, has been rumored NOT to be resigned by there current teams)

Reggie Wayne WR (Indy) – Upgrade over Jerome Simpson - So far he has had a HOF career and he should be able to bring consistency and experience to our young talented WR corps, at least for a couple more years. (Robert Meechum is another option that would be a realistic WR for us to sign)

Stanford Routt CB (Oakland) – Upgrade over Adam Jones - After the Raiders lost Asumuya in FA, he struggled to make the transition to the #1 guy (just like Leon Hall did for us earlier this year). However, he is still very good in man to man coverage and has the speed and ability to be a #1 CB in the league.. His speed should also be a huge help in matching up against some of the faster WR's in the AFC north. (Would prefer Brandon Carr but do not think we will get him).

Jason Allen CB/S (Houston) – Upgrade over Chris Crocker (plays CB as well as safety) - He will be a nice safety net @ CB if Leon Hall is unable to come back fully healthy. He plays both CB and safety so he would be an ideal replacement for Chris Crocker, especially during passing downs.

Vernon Carey Guard (Miami) - Upgrade over Nate Livings - He is the type of guard the Bengals covet because he was originally a tackle then was converted to a guard, so there already a built in perceived value there for Mike Brown(remember we made a run at Robert Gallery last year). At 6'5 340 he is big and strong, which is another attribute the Bengals like in there lineman. (As I said, would love for us to go after Carl Nicks or Ben Grubbs but just DO NOT see it happening).

Draft (This is assuming DeCastro and Richardson are both off the board)

Round 1

#17 – Dre Kirkpatric CB – Upgrade over Kelly Jennings - Normally, the Bengals like to take bigger physical CB's who can play man to man coverage and are good against the run. He fits this description. (Stephon Gilmore is our backup option if Kirkpatric is off the board)

#21 – Donte’ Hightower ILB – Upgrade over Rey Mauluga - I like Rey and his potential but honeslty we have just made too many excuses for his lack of production. LB is a position group where elite players should be able to come in and have an immediate impact in the NFL (Odel Thurman, Clay Mathews, etc) and it's now been 3 years for Rey. I think Rey can be a good player and will actually have a nice NFL carreer. Having said that, this year we have an opportunity to grab an elite level player at a very important position and we should jump on it. Rey is starting to remind me too much of Ahmad Brooks with his developmental time table and all the talk still being about his potential instead of his actual play on the field. Plus him getting in trouble AGAIN, just pisses me off.

Round 2

Doug Martin RB – Upgrade over Cedric Benson - To me he seems like the perfect back for this offense. He is a 3 down back that can run effectively between the tackles, block, and also catch the ball out of the backfield.

Round 3

Brandon Brooks Guard - Upgrade over Mike McGlynn - Eventually he could be Boobie's successor. He can compete with Clint Boling, and Vernon Carrey for the starting job this year. Offensive line is one of the position groups that is often difficut for a rookie, so if we can grab a capable starter in FA and then draft a quality prospect in one of the early to mid rounds we should be in pretty good shape. (This is assuming DeCastro does not fall to us in round 1)

Round 4

Stephon Hill WR – Upgrade over Andre Caldwell - He could be our big downfield threat to stretch the field opposite of AJ Green.

Round 5

Levy Adcock OT – Replaces Dennis Roland (adds versatility because he play both tackle postitions)

Travian Robertson DT/DE – Adds depth with lots of potential and a huge upsside

Round 6

Damario Davis OLB – Adds depth with lots of potential and a huge upside

Round 7

Dyrell Roberts WR/KR - Will need some development as a WR but has great speed and is explosive with the ball in his hand could be a huge upgrade in the return game.

Next year’s Roster

Offense (28)

QB – Andy Dalton, Bruce Gradkowski

RB – Doug Martin, Benard Scott, Cedric Peerman

FB – Chris Pressley, Brian Leonard

WR – AJ Green, Reggie Wayne, Jordan Shipley, Stephon Hill, Andrew Hawkins, Arman Binns, Ryan Whalen, Dyrell Roberts

Guard – Bobbie Williams, Vernon Carrey, Clint Boling, Brandon Brooks, Ottis Hudson

Center – Kyle Cook

Tackle – Andrew Whitworth, Andre Smith, Anthony Collins, Levy Adcock

TE – Jermaine Gresham, Donald Lee, Colin Cochart

Defense (30)

MLB – Donte’ Hightower, Dan Skuta

OLB – Thomas Howard, Manny Lawson, Keith Rivers, Donte Moch, Vincent Rey, DeQuinn Evans, Damario Davis

Utility LB’s (play multiple positions) – Roderick Muckelroy, Brandon Johnson

CB – Nate Clements, Leon Hall, Stanford Routt, Brandon Ghee

Nickel CB/S – Jason Allen, Dre Kirkpatric

Safety – Reggie Nelson, Jeromey Miles

Strong Safety – Taylor Mays, Robert Sands

D-line – Geno Atkins, Carlos Dunlap, Pat Simms, Jonathan Fanene, Damota Peko, Frostee Rucker, Michael Johnson, Robert Geathers, Travian Robertson

Special Teams (3)

LS – Clark Harris
P – Kevin Huber
K – Mike Nugent

In this scenereo we have lost 13 players and have added another 13 players through both FA and the draft (9 draft picks and 4 free agents). We have also made a serious statement to our other young players by eliminating and replacing all of our high maitenence guys (Rey, Ced, Pacman, and Jerome).

I know it's not the perfect offseason, however we have managed to upgrade the majority of our position groups and we've eliminated virtually every headache on our team.