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As the Cincinnati Bengals move in to the active part of the NFL offseason, Director of Player Personnel Duke Tobin spoke to the media at the NFL Scouting Combine on Tuesday. Tobin said the team is prepared to “attack” the offseason and spend their resources to rebuild a playoff contender.
Of those resources, restructuring the contract of franchise quarterback Joe Burrow could be a very useful one. Converting some of Burrow’s salary into a bonus could free up cap space and give the Bengals more to spend on free agents, most likely on the defensive side.
Teams restructure contracts frequently, but it isn’t necessarily something the Bengals are known to do. The Cleveland Browns restructure Deshaun Watson’s contract every offseason, and the Kansas City Chiefs have restructured Patrick Mahomes in each of the last four offseasons. It isn’t a secret around the NFL. The Bengals just haven’t caught up yet.
When speaking to the media in Indianapolis, though, Tobin did make it sound like a restructure for their franchise player is possible, saying that a restructure “isn’t off the table.”
“Cap dollars have to be counted, so if we can accomplish what we want to accomplish without pushing things into future problems, we’ll do that,” Tobin said, according to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. “If we need that, we’ll consider that as well. We’re open to doing anything we need to do to improve our team. Where we’re satisfied, we’re going to win a championship. That’s our mindset, and that’s the way we’re going into the offseason. But we have resources right now, and we’ll see what we can get done.”
Per Over The Cap, the Bengals could save around $19.2 million by restructuring Burrow. They could also save roughly another $26 million if they did simple restructures with star receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. They have the ability to add a lot to the $53 million in cap space they are already expected to have, opening the door for an extremely active offseason.
We have seen the Bengals’ front office get with the times a bit in recent years, and if they are willing to join the restructuring party, this would be a great offseason to do it.