Dynasty Fantasy Football Free Agency Preview 2026: Cincinnati Bengals

The Cincinnati Bengals are always heavily discussed every offseason because we find ourselves asking what went wrong and how do we fix it. This offseason, I expected to potentially see some changes around the coaching staff or key personnel decision makers in the front office. But pretty much everyone is back, so it seems the plan is to just add some pieces and run it back.

And they might not need to add all that many pieces - especially in terms of weapons. When healthy, the Bengals have some of the best weapons in the game. We’ll take a look at the depth chart, contracts, and salary cap for those guys, as well as way in for dynasty, but the goal here is likely to just keep spirits up and make another run. If this year ends in failure again, that’s when there will be bigger decisions to make across the board. 

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*The salary cap numbers referenced in this article come courtesy of our friends over at Spotrac.com*
 

Cincinnati Bengals Depth Chart 2026 (Fantasy Football Relevant)

KEY

• White = free agent
• Green = role is safe
• Yellow =  role in flux
• Orange = likely a depth piece
• Red = roster spot not guaranteed

Cincinnati Bengals Free Agency 2026

• CURRENT PROJECTED 2026 SALARIES: $260M
• CURRENT ESTIMATED 2026 CAP SPACE: $53M

Free Agent Types

Unrestricted free agent: Any player with four or more accrued seasons whose contract has expired. They are free to negotiate with any team.

Restricted free agent: A player with three accrued seasons and an expired contract. The CBA allowed for NFL teams to tender these players to one-year qualifying offers to retain them. Another team can sign them, but would need to provide the tendering team with compensation. In layman’s terms, if a new team signs a player, the current team can match it, or they receive the corresponding pick from the new team. These are the projected RFA tender levels per OverTheCap.com:

• 1st Round - $7,893,000
• 2nd Round - $5,658,000
• Right of First Refusal - $3,453,000

Exclusive rights free agent: Any player with fewer than three accrued seasons and an expired contract. If his original team offers him a one-year contract at the league minimum, the player cannot negotiate with other teams. If the team wants the player back, these contracts are a no-brainer, as the player either needs to play on the contract or sit out. 

Bengals Quarterback Depth Chart

Joe Burrow

Joe Burrow is a great football player. That part is not up for debate. We can debate whether the team has done enough to keep him healthy or whether he could do more to keep himself healthy all we want. But when this guy is healthy, he’s one of the best in the business. It’s the job of the Bengals front office and coaches to keep him healthy and happy, and lately, they have not done that. If they could, there would be nothing to discuss here as he’s under contract through 2029. But there have been folks speculating and asking about his future in Cincinnati because good things have not been happening.

Joe Flacco

As he does wherever he goes, Joe Flacco did a serviceable job. But it wasn’t enough to keep things afloat for the long haul for the Bengals. This is the kind of guy that can do that for 3-4 games, but he’s shown that he’s not leading a team on a long playoff run. The Bengals could bring him back, but he might be a little more expensive than what they’d be willing to do. 

Jake Browning

Many, including me, were happy with Browning as the backup coming into this season. What we saw this year was pretty conclusive evidence that he is not the answer there. The team traded for Joe Flacco instead and, as a free agent, his time with the Bengals is likely done. 

• Reserves/Futures: Sean Clifford

BENGALS QB FREE AGENCY TAKE: The Bengals need to do something at offensive line, first and foremost, so that they don’t need their backup so often. But Joe Burrow doesn’t really need “veteran leadership,” and they don’t need a development project, so the most important thing here is balancing playing ability with affordability. Here is the list that I think would be an improvement over Browning. 

• POSSIBLE FREE AGENT OPTIONS: Joe Flacco, Marcus Mariota, Mitchell Trubisky, Tyrod Taylor, Kenny Pickett, Jimmy Garoppolo, Carson Wentz

Bengals Running Back Depth Chart

Chase Brown

Chase Brown is officially eligible for a contract extension. Both sides seemingly want him to return and his reps say they are “working hard” to make that happen. Recently, we’ve seen guys like Rhamondre Stevenson, Chuba Hubbard, and Javonte Williams get deals in the $8 to $9 million a year range. Above that, you have Kyren Williams at $11M and James Cook at $11.5M. You’ve got a 25-year-old back who’s done everything you’ve asked of him, so somewhere in the $10M AAV range would make sense for both parties. And would be great for his fantasy value. 

Samaje Perine

I don’t think the Bengals need to really overthink this one. Perine is a solid pass-blocking back and can handle the little bit of extra work when Chase needs a break. He’s under contract for 2026, so no reason to mess with it. 

Tahj Brooks

This is where the Bengals would start to have questions. Well, one question, really. If Chase Brown gets hurt, are they comfortable with Tahj Brooks? Samaje Perine is not an every-down back; he’s more of a satellite back. If they are good with Brooks, he’s probably the handcuff to own for your fantasy leagues. If you look elsewhere, that means they don’t trust him. Brown played all 17 games in 2025, so we didn’t really get to see what would happen. He’s on a rookie deal through 2028, so if he’s the guy, they are in good shape.

• Reserves/Futures: Gary Brightwell, Kendall Milton

BENGALS RB FREE AGENCY TAKE: The Bengals don’t really need to do much here. If they do bring in a backup, it would probably just be a cheap bruiser as a counterpart to Samaje Perine if needed. Here are some names for consideration. 

• POSSIBLE FREE AGENT OPTIONS: Dameon Pierce, A.J. Dillon, Nick Chubb, Miles Sanders

Bengals Wide Receiver Depth Chart

Ja'Marr Chase

Ja'Marr Chase is a super mega star, and he’s under contract for a long time with one of the league’s best quarterbacks. The combination of both safety and upside makes him arguably the best asset in all of dynasty fantasy football. Simple as that. 

Tee Higgins

The reality for Tee Higgins is that he plays the more difficult role than Ja'Marr Chase. As the big-bodied split end, he has to line up out wide more often and, because of how other teams play against certain formations based on who is “tethered” to the line, he often has to face the other team’s top corner. Think of it like Mike Evans and Chris Godwin in Tampa Bay. That’s why they gave Higgins big money - not necessarily to go out and lead the team in targets, but do a difficult but important job. And he’s one of the best at it. 

Andrei Iosivas

Andrei Iosivas is in the final year of his rookie deal and is eligible for an extension. With two high-end wide receivers, they don’t really need him to do much with the ball in his hands, but he does a serviceable job and is a good blocker. The question with these guys often boils down to whether they want to take a reasonable deal to remain as a role player or test free agency, looking for a bigger opportunity. Obviously, for his fantasy value, leaving next year would be best.   

Mitchell Tinsley

They like having Mitchell Tinsley around, so picking up his exclusive right free agent contract in 2025 was a no-brainer. They already extended him to a one-year deal for 2026, so he’ll be back for depth and special teams. 

Charlie Jones

Charlie Jones handles both the kick and punt returns, so he’ll be back. He hurt his ankle towards the end of the season but is expected to make a full recovery for the offseason.   

Ke’Shawn Williams

The Bengals acquired Ke’Shawn Williams off waivers after he was released by the Steelers. He returned some kicks/punts while Charlie Jones was out. He has zero guaranteed money tied to his deal, so he’s not a roster lock. 

• Reserves/Futures: Jordan Moore, Xavier Johnson, Dohnte Meyers, Kendric Pryor

BENGALS WR FREE AGENCY TAKE: With the Bengals roster holes, it does not make sense to allocate a bunch of money to a WR3, as they would likely just be a part-time player anyway. Perhaps they can draft a slot player or a field stretcher for a boost, but it should not be a priority. 

• POSSIBLE FREE AGENT OPTIONS: N/A

Bengals Tight End Depth Chart

Mike Gesicki

The Bengals have essentially used a tight end rotation with Mike Gesicki skewing pass-catching and others towards blocking. Even though the contract is fairly new, Gesicki could be released with only $4M in dead cap and $3.3M in savings. If that were to happen, it will happen very soon as an extra $2M of his contract becomes guaranteed on March 15th. My guess is he remains, and that decision is pushed to 2027.

Drew Sample

Drew Sample has been a reliable blocking tight end and “extra lineman”. He also plays a good chunk of snaps in the backfield in place of the running back or just behind the line. He could be released with zero dead cap, so you never know - they could be looking to change things up in that regard. But the easy thing is to just move forward with Gesicki and Sample. He also plays a big chunk of special teams, so they’d need to replace that. 

Noah Fant

Noah Fant joined the team after being released by the Seahawks. He was part of the rotation and skewed more towards blocking as an inline tight end than Gesicki. He’s an unrestricted free agent, and I would not be surprised to see him test the waters of free agency. 

Tanner Hudson

Hudson serves as the emergency pass-catching tight end, but he also played the sixth-most special-teams snaps of anyone on the team. They extended up for 2026, so I expect him there for depth. 

Erick All

Unfortunately, even dating back to college, Erick All’s career has been marred by injury. Both back and knee injuries hampered him there, then a serious ACL injury in 2024 kept him out for all of 2025. We’d love to see what he can do, but his roster spot is dependent on his ability to return to form.

Cam Grandy

Cam Grandy has floated around the practice squad while sporadically getting called up. He primarily plays special teams when that happens. He’s not a roster lock. 

• Reserves/Futures: Cam Grandy

BENGALS TE FREE AGENCY TAKE: The Bengals' philosophy has been to forego an every-down tight end and instead piece the position together with different complementary pieces. Along the way, they have found themselves spending the 11th most money on the position without really having any premium players. If they did want to move towards using one, every down inline tight end they could jetison a ton of these guys and sign someone like Cade Otton. Or they could try drafting someone. Here are the options in free agency. 

• POSSIBLE FREE AGENT OPTIONS: Cade Otton, David Njoku, Dallas Goedert, Isaiah Likely

Dynasty Fantasy Football Rankings

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