The Cincinnati Bengals have a difficult decision to face the legend of the modern franchise, Geno Atkins.
Atkins, 32, struggled with a shoulder injury last year and is one of the team’s biggest successes in 2021. As such, he is an obvious candidate for switching or cutting, unless both sides agree on some kind of restructuring or payment cut.
According to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, Atkins is one of those names that came up in commercial negotiations before the free agency:
Bengals DT Geno Atkins: He has relatively reasonable numbers for the next two years ($ 12.2 million, $ 13.45 million), but turns 33 in March and a shoulder injury seriously damaged his game last fall. It is another one that is likely to be cut if it is not negotiated. “
Unless the Bengals manage to get Atkins to agree to some contractual change, he offers little in the way of commercial value because he carries a $ 14.7 million limit reached in 2021.
Also on Monday, director of the Bengals players’ team, Duke Tobin, even hinted that something could happen in front of Atkins if the team needs more space to make other plays.
For now, Cincinnati is not hurting the cover space. But it makes no sense to damage the space available to a veteran with a huge knock on the ceiling.