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The Cincinnati Bengals are fighting for their first ever Super Bowl win tonight, but tomorrow they’ll be focused on shaping the 2022 version of this season’s Super Bowl team. There are multiple questions going into next season, but they thankfully don’t need to worry about their key offensive skill players around quarterback Joe Burrow.
The Bengals will need to make a decision on a few key defensive players, starting with safety Jessie Bates, who has voiced some frustration with his inability to get a contract extension.
They also could lose fan favorite tight end C.J. Uzomah, but him re-signing sounds like the more likely outcome.
Last season’s salary cap number dropped to $182.5 million as the league dealt with the pandemic, but the 2022 cap rebounded back up to $208 million according to Over The Cap.
Franchise Tag possibilities
Bates is a franchise possibility, but after him they probably won’t consider the tag on anyone else.
Salary cap
Estimated 2022 cap space: ($57,307,379, 3rd highest in the league)
Notable unrestricted free agents
* Denotes Restricted Free Agent (RFA)
Bengals list of 2022 unrestricted free agents
| Player | Pos. | Snaps | Age |
|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Pos. | Snaps | Age |
| Quinton Spain | LG | 90.60% | 31 |
| Eli Apple | CB | 87.20% | 27 |
| Jessie Bates III | S | 84.90% | 25 |
| C.J. Uzomah | TE | 73.00% | 29 |
| Larry Ogunjobi | IDL | 64.50% | 28 |
| B.J. Hill | IDL | 44.70% | 27 |
| Vernon Hargreaves | CB | 34.10% | 27 |
| Tre Flowers | CB | 32.40% | 27 |
| Kevin Huber | P | 29.60% | 37 |
| Clark Harris | LS | 29.60% | 38 |
| Ricardo Allen | S | 15.20% | 31 |
| Mike Thomas | WR | 12.90% | 28 |
| Auden Tate | WR | 10.50% | 25 |
| Zach Kerr | IDL | 9.30% | 32 |
| Brandon Allen | QB | 8.40% | 30 |
| Darius Phillips | CB | 8.00% | 27 |
| Michael Thomas | S | 7.80% | 33 |
| Jordan Evans | LB | 3.90% | 27 |