The Bengals are re-signing cornerback Darqueze Dennard, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter). The Chiefs and a mystery club were also in the mix for him, but the former first-round pick ultimately re-upped with Cincinnati. He’ll return on a one-year deal, according to an announcement from the team.
Dennard’s market was slow to develop despite other slot corners receiving lucrative deals around the NFL. His visit to Kansas City late last week marked his first known outside interest of the offseason . Cincinnati was initially willing to re-sign Dennard at around $8.5MM annually, so it will be interesting to see whether the price went up or down.
The Bengals are often reticent to field young players during the early portions of their respective careers, and that was never more evident than in Dennard’s case, as the former Michigan State Spartan played fewer than 600 defensive snaps in his first three pro seasons.
Dennard became Cincinnati’s full-time slot corner in 2017, and saw action on roughly three-quarters of the Bengals’ snaps in each of the past two years. Football Outsiders ranked Dennard 29th among 85 qualifiers in yards allowed per pass attempt in 2018 but just 49th in success rate, while Pro Football Focus graded Dennard as the league’s No. 52 CB.
Bungles need to come away with Haskins before anyone takes them serious