While the Cincinnati Bengals have been productive this offseason, inking star wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins to four-year extensions, they still have work to do.
Some of that work includes making a decision on their top edge rusher, Trey Hendrickson, who is looking for a new contract and has made it clear that he won’t play on his current deal.
Considering Cincinnati already lost defensive end Sam Hubbard to retirement this offseason, they should be doing everything they can to keep one of the best pass rushers in the league around for the foreseeable future.
However, if they decide to move on, they must address the position before the start of the year, and interestingly, NFL writer Gia Nguyen recently listed the Bengals as a potential landing spot for veteran defensive end Za’Darius Smith.
Smith, 32, was a fourth round pick (No. 122 overall) of the Baltimore Ravens in the 2015 NFL draft following a collegiate career split between East Mississippi Community College (2011-12) and Kentucky (2013-14).
After four years with the Ravens, Smith spent three with the Green Bay Packers, one with the Minnesota Vikings, 1.5 with the Cleveland Browns and a half-year with the Detroit Lions.
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Smith has made three Pro Bowls and one second-team All-Pro in his 10-year career while recording 333 tackles (85 for a loss), 173 quarterback hits, 69 sacks, 16 passes defensed, 10 forced fumbles and two fumbles recovered.
Between Cleveland and Detroit last year, Smith finished with 35 tackles (nine for a loss), 17 quarterback hits, nine sacks and a pass defensed in 17 games. Pro Football Focus gave him a 74.7 overall grade for his efforts, ranking him 33rd out of 211 NFL edge rushers. He also earned a 76.5 pass-rush grade (21st) and a 62.8 run-defense grade (85th).
Smith is in the back-half of his NFL career, but he can still play a meaningful role for Cincinnati in 2025 and give them time to get younger in the front seven. Plus, at this point in the offseason, he won’t cost too much with the Bengals at $27 million in cap space (per Over the Cap).
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