The Cincinnati Bengals likely lost safety Vonn Bell in free agency for the same reason the team lost fellow starting safety Jessie Bates: Cash, and the structure of it.
Bates becoming the fourth-highest-paid safety ever with the Falcons firmly kept the Bengals out of that conversation. And Bell getting a specific structure with the Panthers probably removed them from that conversation, too.
Bell’s three-year deal with the Panthers is worth $22.5 million, which doesn’t sound wild, sure. But it features $13 million in guarantees.
For context, the deal Germaine Pratt just signed with the Bengals over three years only has $7 million in guarantees.
Not only that, in a change for the franchise, the Bengals pushed Pratt’s bigger cap hits to later years, saving more money in 2023 — a sign they plan to use the space on other names and extensions.
Bell’s deal? It’s only a $3 million cap hit this year but massively increases to a $10.9 million cap hit in 2024, almost as if it were engineered with the understanding that it what would take the Bengals out of the sweepstakes.
It’s very hard to blame Bell for going and getting this deal on what is probably his last chance at a big one as a pro. His last deal with the Bengals only boasted $3 million in guarantees compared to $13 million with the Panthers now as that organization hopes he can now help them rebuild the culture, too.
So while the Bengals didn’t want to lose Bell, a desperate, rebuilding team offered big guarantees and a specific structure it likely knew would help them get their guy.
It was a deal the Bengals had the ability to match, but it likely would have jeopardized space need to do extensions with the likes of Tee Higgins, Logan Wilson and Ja’Marr Chase, not just Joe Burrow. Cincinnati’s front office didn’t deem it worth the risk, which will be something to watch in the coming years.
