Hobspins annual lies

[muskiesfan]

I give the Bengals tons of credit for never putting themselves in Salary Cap Hell. It's nice not wondering who has to be cut to get them under the mark. The Bengals are also fantastic at making sure their cash spent numbers are where they need to be. They frontload deals and get that cash spent number high.

Where they need work is learning how to use the actual cap properly. Constantly leaving $8-10 million unspent is not helping the team at all. That's a solid FA or a couple of role players that could potentially push them over the hump. Instead, we keep hearing about future deals that get signed but they continue to save for more future deals. Every team in the NFL deals with the future. Every team deals with the same issues the Bengals face. Most teams, the overwhelming majority of teams, spend their available cap space (or as close as possible). Meanwhile, the Bengals kick another $8-10 million down the road to sign their 2020 draft class.

Before anyone tries to flip the script, the Bengals could spend that excess cap money and still not put themselves in cap hell. Spending closer to the cap while also frontloading deals would be the best of both worlds.