Bengals News (2/21): Akeem Davis-Gaither could step into a big role

Bengals fans will love this MVP and Super Bowl prediction from ESPN
The Cincinnati Bengals won’t stop being featured prominently in major projections, especially not with the league likely to use them in significant programming spots next year and beyond, too.

Why it’s linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither’s moment: Bengals free agency
“I want to be a Super Bowl champion,” Pratt said. “You don’t play this game just to go out there get the money and go home. You’ll be miserable. You love this game so much you put so much time into it, you want to be a Super Bowl champion.”

Bengals 2023 mock offseason: Choose your own adventure to building the roster - The Athletic
As a refresher: Everyone has their own ideas of how they would fix the roster for the short- and long-term. Among free agency, the draft, cap cuts, extensions and finding bargain pieces, there are hundreds of paths to the end product on opening day.

Peter King expects Bengals to be used in ‘tentpole events’ next season
“One logical theory I heard last week: The NFL has a lot of network mouths to feed, and could use KC games versus the Eagles, Bills and Bengals as tentpole events for the NBC, CBS and ESPN schedules. Maybe Eagles-KC on an October Sunday night on NBC, Bengals-KC on a CBS doubleheader game in a November Sunday late-afternoon window, and Bills-KC as the highlight of the ESPN slate.”

The one Raven the Bengals must target in free agency in 2023
The Bengals need someone who can get after the quarterback, as they finished in the bottom five of sacks last season. Houston is just that, even at the ripe age of 34 years old. He had 9.5 sacks this past season and hasn't shown any signs of slowing down.

Around the league

David Carr: QB Derek Carr's free agency will be 'long process'
Thus far, Carr has visited with the New Orleans Saints and head coach Dennis Allen, who drafted him to the Raiders in 2014, and the New York Jets over this past weekend. "Derek had a great trip," David said, adding he hit it off with head coach Robert Saleh. "He went there to get a feel for how they work from the top down."

5 NFL players who should be traded this offseason: DeAndre Hopkins, Mike Evans to continue WR trend?
Last offseason was highlighted by a number of high-profile trades, with the receiver position playing a starring role. Adam Rank identifies five notable players who SHOULD be dealt this offseason, including two highly decorated wideouts.

Jonathan Gannon takes blame for Eagles' Super Bowl breakdowns: 'I did not do a good enough job'
Two of the game's biggest plays came when Kansas City faked jet motion and reversed course for wide-open touchdowns. First, Kadarius Toney slammed the brakes early in the fourth quarter and found himself alone after Eagles defensive backs overplayed the motion. On the next K.C. drive, Philly called an all-out blitz on third down, and again no one covered the fake jet motion, leaving Skyy Moore alone for a score to put the Chiefs up eight points.

NFL franchise tag window opens today; Lamar Jackson, Orlando Brown among candidates
Don't expect a flurry of tag news immediately as the window opens. Teams generally wait until closer to the end of the tag window to officially make a move, utilizing that time to work on a potential long-term deal. With the NFL Scouting Combine in Indy next week, deals could get done before the tag is needed.