Bengals, S Geno Stone Agree To Deal

On the lookout for a safety addition, Cincinnati is set to add a new potential starter from a division rival. Geno Stone has agreed to a deal with the Bengals, as first reported by Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz. Stone will receive $15MM on a two-year deal, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network adds.

Stone has been a division rival of the Bengals in Baltimore for almost all of his career, minus a short two-and-a-half-month period in his rookie year that he spent on the Texans’ roster. After being drafted in the seventh round out of Iowa, Stone’s entire tenure as a Raven was in a backup capacity. He sat behind eventual free agent departures Chuck Clark and DeShon Elliott, as well as versatile defensive back Brandon Stephens, before the eventual arrivals of Marcus Williams and Kyle Hamilton.

Injuries to Williams in 2022 and 2023, as well as the need to move Stephens back to cornerback for depth purposes, finally afforded Stone a chance to start. He took that chance and shined. With seven starts in 2022, Stone graded out as the league’s 28th best safety out of 88 graded players, according to Pro Football Focus. He earned more starts as an injury replacement for Williams this year and played so well that Baltimore often found themselves fielding three safeties, all in versatile roles. With his opportunities this year, Stone graded out well again as he battled DaRon Bland for the interception title with seven picks of his own.

The Ravens will be sad to watch Stone go, but they are set up well at the safety position with Willams and Hamilton both under contract through the 2026 season. They may need to add some depth at the position with such a valuable piece as Stone headed across the division, but it likely won’t be high on the priority list, perhaps necessitating a late-round pick.

In Cincinnati, Stone arrives to a bit of a muddier situation. For much of the year, the Bengals fielded Daxton Hill and Nick Scott as their starting safeties. PFF would grade both players extremely poorly with Hill ranking 90th and Scott landing dead last at 95th. Third-round rookie Jordan Battle would eventually step in for Scott as a starter next to Hill, and in a small sample size, Battle graded out much better as the league’s eighth-best safety, according to PFF.

Hill and Battle may be the incumbent starters, with lots of time left on their rookie contracts. Even Scott is under contract for the next two years, but Stone provides a new, intriguing option. If Hill continues to struggle, the Bengals now have a ball-hawking safety in Stone who plays far too hard to be kept off the field. Stone may even push for starting time to begin the year. If Scott or Hill show improvement, Stone gives Cincinnati the option of running three-safety sets, just like their rivals did with Stone last season.

Ely Allen contributed to this post.