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Arguably the strongest position on the Bengals' roster is also one of its cheapest.
The team's top two running backs are Jeremy Hill and Giovani Bernard, both of whom were drafted in the past two years. Bernard was a second-round pick in the 2013 draft out of North Carolina. He went on to have a great year and was runner-up as the NFL Rookie of the Year.
That didn't stop Cincinnati from grabbing another back in 2014, when they took LSU's Jeremy Hill in the second round as well. He too went on to have a breakout rookie campaign, so much so that he's expected to be the No. 1 RB going forward.
Behind Bernard and Hill are special-teams ace Cedric Peerman and 2013 sixth-round pick Rex Burkhead. Fighting with them for roster spots are 2014 undrafted free agent James Wilder and 2015 UDFAs Terrell Watson and Mark Weismon.
Here's a salary breakdown in 2015 for the Bengals' running backs:
|
Player |
Base Salary |
Bonuses |
Cap |
|||
|
Prorated |
Roster |
Workout |
Other |
|||
|
Giovani Bernard |
$832,576 |
$550,153 |
$0 |
$50,000 |
$0 |
$1,432,729 |
|
Cedric Peerman |
$745,000 |
$125,000 |
$0 |
$50,000 |
$0 |
$920,000 |
|
Jeremy Hill |
$590,618 |
$262,473 |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
$853,091 |
|
Rex Burkhead |
$585,000 |
$25,550 |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
$610,550 |
|
James Wilder |
$435,000 |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
$435,000 |
|
Terrell Watson |
$435,000 |
$2,000 |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
$437,000 |
|
Mark Weisman |
$435,000 |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
$435,000 |
- It's safe to assume none of these guys are getting a new contract this year, which means the Bengals' current payroll of $4,686,370 at this position won't change. That total spending would be the 12th lowest of any NFL team.
- Starting running back Jeremy Hill will actually be the third-highest paid back this year on the Bengals. Giovani Bernard is the only back to break $1 million.