Terron Armstead dubbed best free agent fit for Bengals

The Cincinnati Bengals have two major holes, both of which need to be filled in short order this offseason. Those two, which were obvious during the team’s Super Bowl run, are a quality No. 2 cornerback and an impactful offensive lineman.

The latter is certainly the more important as superstar quarterback Joe Burrow took 16 sacks in two combined playoffs games (against the Titans and then in the Super Bowl against the Rams).

Following the team’s franchise tag on Jessie Bates, they now have the seventh-most cap space. Cincinnati, over the past few offseasons, has been big spenders, especially compared to past years.

The Bengals will have options when it comes to how they want to improve their line. Trading could do the trick, but having the recruiting help of a recent Super Bowl appearance, they may find traction in a loaded free-agent market.

One name to keep an eye on is Saints tackle Terron Armstead. This would be a huge addition for the Bengals as their weakness has more to do with the edge rush than their play at guard.

Here is an excerpt of what CBS Sports’ Jeff Kerr wrote, explaining his reasoning for why the Bengals should pursue Armstead.

“Unfortunately, Cincinnati’s poor offensive line was its untimely demise in Super Bowl LVI. The Bengals need help at the tackle position and have $48.4 million in salary cap space to improve the offensive line. Armstead is the franchise left tackle Cincinnati seeks, allowing just one sack in 263 pass-blocking snaps last season, having an 85.6 pass-blocking grade (fifth-best among tackles last year),” Kerr said.

Kerr continues by noting that Armstead is “one of four offensive tackles to make the Pro Bowl in three of the last four seasons.” While Armstead is older at 31, Andrew Whitworth proved that age doesn’t matter is the skill set is there, and for Armstead, it certainly is.