The Bengals make their first signing outside of their own free agents.
The Bengals made their first official free agent signing on the second day of free agency, which is a lot sooner than they normally would.
Cincinnati is signing former Giants cornerback B.W. Webb. who played under the Bengals new defensive coordinator, Lou Anarumo last season. It’s reportedly for $13 million over three years.
The move makes plenty of sense since Anarumo was the Giants defensive backs coach last season, so he is very familiar with Webb. The Bengals will also probably need to fill the hole that Darqueze Dennard will leave in the slot when he inevitably moves on, which this move heavily signals.
Webb was Pro Football Focus’ 77th ranked cornerback last season, but that is slightly deceiving. Webb was playing well in the slot, but when the team traded Eli Apple during the season, it forced Webb to have to move to the outside, which did not suit him. In fact, Pro Football Focus had this to say after Week 10 last season:
When B.W. Webb lines up in the slot; he’s been thrown at just 13 times on 142 coverage snaps. He’s the only slot cornerback with 100 or more slot coverage snaps to be thrown at less than 10% of the time.
Webb’s signing means the Bengals likely couldn’t strike a deal with Dennard for whatever reason. One thing that was probably in play was the looming contract that William Jackson will be getting when it comes time to re-sign him. Cincinnati also is paying Dre Kirkpatrick like a starting corner as well.
While Webb can replace Dennard in the slot, it will be interesting to see what the Bengals do when Kirkpatrick or Williams are forced to miss snaps or games. Last year Dennard would kick outside most of the time to fill in, but Webb would be far more of a liability out there. The Bengals may be relying on Davontae Harris or Darius Phillips to take a leap in their second season to fill that role.
What are your thoughts on the Webb signing?
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