The Cincinnati Bengals have stepped out over character over the course of the past two offseasons in being big spenders as a part of outside free agency. In 2020, they made two significant additions on defense in particular, signing cornerback Trae Waynes and defensive tackle D.J. Reader.
Of the two, they only managed a couple hundred snaps. Waynes was injured before the season even started, and Reader lasted five games before succumbing to injury himself. That was tens of millions of dollars in new investments sitting on the Reserve/Injured List.
That bad experience didn’t let the front office stop them, however, as they continued to spend in free agency this year, for example, with the signings of Mike Hilton, formerly of the Steelers, Chidobe Awuzie, Trey Hendrickson, Riley Reiff, and Larry Ogunjobi.