CINCINNATI — The Carolina Panthers launched Jadeveon Clowney on Thursday.
Not solely is he a former Professional Bowler, however he is somebody the Bengals have needed to cope with in every of Joe Burrow’s 5 seasons in Cincinnati.
That is the half the place you are anticipating me to say the Bengals ought to signal him.
They should not.
The Bengals ought to add to their group, however they should not signal Clowney. They drafted Shemar Stewart for a motive. Additionally they have former first spherical decide Myles Murphy within the combine for extra enjoying time.
Guys like Cam Pattern and Joseph Ossai are hoping to show themselves after signing one-year contracts with the Bengals.
The Bengals’ defensive finish room is not excellent and there are query marks, however the one strategy to get solutions is to place these gamers on the sphere.
Stewart, Murphy and Ossai ought to play repeatedly.
Clearly the Bengals want to ensure Trey Hendrickson is on the roster this season. Regardless, a defensive finish room of Hendrickson, Stewart, Murphy, Ossai and Pattern looks like a effectively rounded group.
Issues can change and accidents can occur, however Clowney would not make sense for the Bengals.
He is nonetheless a succesful participant, ending with 5.5 sacks and 9 tackles for loss final season, however Cincinnati wants to determine what they’ve—not solely on the roster, however on their teaching employees.
The Bengals employed defensive coordinator Al Golden and line of defense coach Jerry Montgomery for a motive.
They should get extra out of their younger guys. If the Bengals hadn’t spent the seventeenth decide on a bodily freak on Stewart, then we would be having a unique dialog. Stewart has numerous the identical traits that Clowney had when he was the No. 1 decide within the 2014 NFL Draft.
It is as much as Montomery to get essentially the most out of Stewart instantly. The Bengals want him to make an immediate influence.
If circumstances have been completely different, then signing Clowney would make sense, however the Bengals ought to move on the previous high decide—at the least for now.