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The Bengals have made a number of key signings and acquisitions since the end of the 2017 NFL season.
The Cordy Glenn trade brings on a $11,250,000 cap hit for the Bengals this year. Tyler Eifert has a $4,125,000 cap hit on his $5.5 million deal. Even Kevin Huber’s new $2.3 million cap hit this season added a considerable ding to the Bengals’ cap space for 2018.
After all the signings the Bengals have made this offseason, the team has $17,420,171 in cap room remaining, according to the NFLPA’s public salary cap report. (See below for the full report.)
Let’s take a look at last year’s Bengals draft class, which had the same number of draft picks as the Bengals currently possess in 2018, 11.
Cap hits 2017 draft class:
John Ross: $3,084,444
Joe Mixon: $990,940
Jordan Willis: $691,100
Carl Lawson: $628,153
Josh Malone: $614,810
Ryan Glasgow: $569,912
Jordan Evans: $504,126
Jake Elliott:$288,348*
J.J. Dielman: $288,348*
Brandon Wilson: $218,823
Mason Schreck: $364,071
TOTAL: $8,243,075
*Contracts terminated and cap hits no longer available. Money noted is what they earned with Bengals.
Additionally, Spotrac has projected how much the Bengals’ 2018 rookie class will cost and the projection says the cap hit will be $8,433,155. So, let’s use that number for now, though it won’t be 100 percent accurate and will change if the Bengals make any draft weekend trades.
Spotrac’s Bengals 2018 Draft Class Cost Projection
| PICK | TEAM | TOTAL VALUE | SIGNING BONUS | 2018 CAP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PICK | TEAM | TOTAL VALUE | SIGNING BONUS | 2018 CAP |
| 21 | CIN from BUF | $11,806,211 | $6,666,335 | $2,146,584 |
| 46 | CIN | $6,136,259 | $2,542,734 | $1,115,684 |
| 77 | CIN | $3,802,202 | $938,799 | $714,700 |
| 100 (C) | CIN | $3,334,840 | $769,387 | $672,347 |
| 112 | CIN | $3,107,426 | $692,426 | $653,107 |
| 151 | CIN | $2,706,555 | $291,555 | $552,889 |
| 158 | CINf rom BUF | $2,696,289 | $281,289 | $550,322 |
| 170 (C) | CIN | $2,634,801 | $219,801 | $534,950 |
| 249 | CINf rom NE | $2,485,721 | $70,721 | $497,680 |
| 252 (C) | CIN | $2,484,784 | $69,784 | $497,446 |
| 253 (C) | CIN | $2,484,784 | $69,784 | $497,446 |
As of today the Bengals have $17,420,171 in cap space. If you take out Spotrac’s draft projection total, that’s $8,987,016 remaining. The Bengals will likely still sign a few more low-key free agents between now and the start of the season. They will also sign some undrafted free agents on low-cost deals.
Maybe more importantly, both Geno Atkins and Carlos Dunlap are set to become free agents in 2019 and the Bengals want to work on long-term extensions with both players this offseason. That will eat into the $8,987,016 number. It’s possible the team even looks to extend Darqueze Dennard or Tyler Kroft, too. Extensions will likely raise the 2018 cap hit of those players, other than Dennard who is set to play on an expensive fifth year option to his rookie contract. If he were to receive an extension, his 2018 cap hit could be lowered.
The Bengals rarely make cuts for cap purposes, but the team may need to do that in the coming weeks/months to ensure there’s enough space to extend the players they want to extend, especially the defensive leaders. The Bengals also typically leave some padding for emergency signings due to injury and dead cap hits that they’ll take when cutting down the roster to 52 players.
Here’s where every NFL team stands as of March 21 when it comes to cap space. Note: cap space changes daily as teams sign and cut players.
NFL Salary Cap Report (3/21/2018)
| Team | Current Contracts | 2017 Carryover | Team Cap | Cap Room |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Current Contracts | 2017 Carryover | Team Cap | Cap Room |
| TOTAL | $339,994,888 | $5,343,770,761 | $694,920,988 | |
| AVERAGE/TEAM | $10,624,840 | $166,992,836 | $21,716,281 | |
| Arizona Cardinals | 61 | $1,601,786 | $166,323,005 | $12,373,156 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 53 | $1,121,399 | $171,004,676 | $5,633,482 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 65 | $3,275,117 | $165,185,004 | $11,301,046 |
| Buffalo Bills | 63 | $11,583,459 | $166,388,715 | $22,054,156 |
| Carolina Panthers | 64 | $4,400,316 | $172,771,630 | $11,347,436 |
| Chicago Bears | 58 | $7,608,858 | $162,630,156 | $22,932,459 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 70 | $10,647,543 | $171,524,247 | $17,420,171 |
| Cleveland Browns | 76 | $58,912,960 | $165,883,770 | $75,379,556 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 56 | $7,874,774 | $183,663,157 | $2,096,808 |
| Denver Broncos | 69 | $10,208,201 | $166,827,231 | $22,317,909 |
| Detroit Lions | 67 | $4,151,311 | $165,664,689 | $16,232,577 |
| Green Bay Packers | 64 | $3,934,518 | $165,122,093 | $20,031,175 |
| Houston Texans | 74 | $9,949,210 | $151,150,063 | $41,194,701 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 71 | $16,837,503 | $119,480,351 | $74,051,439 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 71 | $27,768,739 | $199,436,352 | $11,937,514 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 70 | $2,600,000 | $169,807,223 | $8,854,132 |
| Los Angeles Chargers | 61 | $2,622,050 | $166,433,749 | $13,295,178 |
| Los Angeles Rams | 61 | $4,314,494 | $154,559,045 | $25,155,316 |
| Miami Dolphins | 61 | $69,161 | $168,232,537 | $9,166,140 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 57 | $13,729,203 | $169,739,499 | $20,921,266 |
| New England Patriots | 68 | $3,012,602 | $168,365,931 | $11,863,858 |
| New Orleans Saints | 71 | $287,065 | $162,082,274 | $17,039,281 |
| New York Giants | 73 | $365,321 | $171,893,465 | $6,155,606 |
| New York Jets | 73 | $17,321,900 | $162,180,099 | $31,765,454 |
| Oakland Raiders | 72 | $7,626,880 | $182,717,721 | -$247,949 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 66 | $514,409 | $172,542,555 | $6,069,354 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 63 | $4,041,060 | $175,125,305 | $6,362,746 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 72 | $56,048,430 | $190,582,014 | $47,186,454 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 57 | $547,270 | $162,864,158 | $15,370,801 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 63 | $15,195,668 | $150,900,205 | $44,204,151 |
| Tennessee Titans | 59 | $30,339,319 | $164,645,677 | $44,076,017 |
| Washington Redskins | 73 | $1,484,362 | $158,044,165 | $21,379,598 |