Today’s minor NFL transactions:
Buffalo Bills
Cincinnati Bengals
Denver Broncos
Jacksonville Jaguars
Las Vegas Raiders
Los Angeles Chargers
Miami Dolphins
Tennessee Titans
MARCH 21: The Bengals waited a while, but they have made the Waynes move. This cut will add more than $10MM to Cincinnati’s cap space. Waynes did not play any defensive snaps during the team’s four playoff games, wrapping a disappointing run for the ex-Vikings first-rounder in Cincinnati.
This transaction stands to bump the AFC champions’ cap space north of $23MM. The Bengals brought back Eli Apple, keeping their top three corners from 2021 — Apple, Awuzie and Hilton — together. Unfortunately, Waynes could not avoid more injury trouble, which ended up defining his Bengals tenure.
FEB. 27: This is hardly a surprise, but the Bengals are expected to cut cornerback Trae Waynes, per Jay Morrison of The Athletic (subscription required). Waynes signed a three-year, $42MM contract with Cincinnati in March 2020, and in Morrison’s estimation, he is the biggest free agency bust in club history.
It would be difficult to quibble with that assessment. Waynes missed the entire 2020 season with a pectoral injury, and he ultimately played in just five regular season games in 2021 due to a hamstring ailment. Although he appeared in all four of the Bengals’ postseason contests, he saw just 13 total snaps, and all of them came on special teams.
The reigning AFC champs are in a pretty good place in terms of the salary cap. As Morrison writes in a separate piece (subscription required), Cincinnati should have upwards of $70MM in cap space this offseason, including the $10.9MM the club will realize from the Waynes release. Of course, a good chunk of that money is likely to be invested in an offensive line that yielded a whopping 70 sacks throughout the regular season and playoffs.
But some of it will need to be reinvested into the secondary as well. In addition to a franchise tag or extension for safety Jessie Bates, the Bengals will need to sign a No. 2 corner. Indeed, other than Waynes, Chidobe Awuzie and Mike Hilton, no cornerback who played a snap in 2021 is under contract for 2022.
For his part, Waynes will likely need to settle for a veteran minimum deal somewhere. His contract with the Bengals was inflated due to the premium that teams often have to pay for cornerbacks in free agency, as his 3+ years as a starter with the Vikings were solid enough, but never spectacular. Couple that with his recent injury history, and it stands to reason that he will be looking for a prove-it contract in 2022.
Cincinnati’s effort to re-make their offensive line isn’t finished yet. According to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, the team is “finalizing an agreement” with tackle La’el Collins (Twitter link). Jeff Howe and Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic report that the contract is a three-year deal.
Collins was scheduled for another free agent visit elsewhere, Garafolo notes, but the Bengals are getting him signed before he could leave their building. The former Cowboy is set to become the third starting-caliber addition to their offensive line, as Cincinnati has already brought in Ted Karras and Alex Cappa.
The 28-year-old was released by Dallas last week, as they undergo some noteworthy changes to their own o-line. Not long after learning he would need to find a new NFL home for the first time in his six-year career, Collins met with the Bengals. While they didn’t immediately come to a new deal – leaving the Dolphins potentially in the mix to add him – they seem to have done so now.
A former UDFA, Collins began his time in Dallas as a guard, but is most well-known as the team’s starting right tackle. He saw steady improvement during his time as a Cowboy, earning higher PFF grades with each passing season. In 2021, he continued that trend by registering a mark of 82, despite having not played the previous campaign.
With Collins in the fold, the Bengals have continued to bolster the unit charged with protecting quarterback Joe Burrow. After ranking among the worst teams in terms of sacks allowed – and seeing each of Burrow’s two seasons in the league end with serious knee injuries – the Bengals made it clear they were going to be aggressive in pursuing upgrades. That has certainly been the case so far.
Collins will likely man his familiar right tackle spot, creating a bookend with former first-rounder Jonah Williams. Those two, along with Karras and Cappa, should represent a marked improvement in what was seen as the teams’ weakest position group. The news could send 2020 sixth round pick Hakeem Adeniji inside to guard, or leave him as depth at the RT spot.
La’el Collins‘ Bengals visit concluded without the well-regarded right tackle signing, but the defending AFC champions remain interested, per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald (Twitter links).
The Dolphins are monitoring this situation as well, though it is unclear how serious they are about adding the longtime Cowboys blocker. The Dolphins, per USA Today’s Tyler Dragon (on Twitter), join the Bengals in making a strong push for Collins. No Dolphins visit is scheduled, however, with Jackson adding the AFC East squad appears to be looking through other options.
Connor Williams is Miami-bound, likely set to fill one of the Dolphins’ first-string guard spots. While Collins began his NFL career as a guard, he was working at tackle by the time Williams’ career began. The Dolphins moved 2020 right tackle Robert Hunt to guard last season, leaving them with a bit of a need on the right edge.
Although Joe Burrow‘s sack total became a regular talking point as the season progressed, Pro Football Focus graded Miami’s line as the NFL’s worst last season. Cincinnati and Miami reside within a few hundred thousand dollars of each other in cap space, per OverTheCap, with each holding just more than $16MM in available funds.
The Bengals moved quickly to add two interior O-linemen — Alex Cappa and ex-Dolphin Ted Karras — but Collins would be a bigger coup for the O-line-needy team. Collins, 28, was also linked to the Patriots, who may be set to lose their right tackle in free agency. Trent Brown visited the Seahawks but remains unsigned.
The busy week along the Bengals’ offensive line continues. The team announced today that they are releasing center Trey Hopkins. 
[RELATED: Bengals To Sign Ted Karras]
The 29-year-old has been with the Bengals since joining the team as a UDFA in 2016. He occupied the starting center position since the midway point of the 2018 season. He provided consistent, if unspectacular play during that stretch.
Hopkins’ best PFF grade came last campaign, registering a mark of 63.8. Overall, he will best be known as a member of the unit which was seen as the weak point of Cincinnati’s roster. Quarterback Joe Burrow was sacked a league-leading 51 times in 2021, after being taken down 32 times in an injury-shortened season the year before. Hopkins himself was responsible for five of those, per PFF.
The Texas alum will be replaced in the middle of the line by recent signee Ted Karras. The other main addition along the offensive front was that of guard Alex Cappa, who established himself in Tampa Bay as one of the best young talents at the position. The investment Cincinnati has made in those two demonstrates how much of a priority upgrading the o-line is for them.
Hopkins, meanwhile, will join a free agent market which no longer includes either Ryan Jensen and Bradley Bozeman. Alongside J.C. Tretter – who recently suffered the same fate as Hopkins – he will now search for a new home after six years in the AFC North.
La’el Collins‘ first post-Cowboys visit will be in Cincinnati. The Bengals will host the veteran right tackle, according to Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Collins is flying to Ohio tonight, with the visit set for Friday, per Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio and The Athletic’s Jeff Howe (Twitter links).
As expected, the Bengals have been active in attempting to repair their beleaguered offensive line this week. They have signed interior blockers Alex Cappa and Ted Karras. Collins checks in with a slightly higher profile than both and would certainly be an upgrade for the defending AFC champions at right tackle.
Bengals offensive line coach Frank Pollack was Collins’ first NFL position coach, being with Dallas from 2015-17. Pollack’s position group has been under siege for multiple seasons, with the Bengals having seen Joe Burrow suffer a torn ACL and lead the NFL in sacks taken last season. The Bengals have Jonah Williams set to return at left tackle, but the team has operated with a purpose this week — after not devoting much in the way of resources to Burrow’s first two O-lines — to upgrade other areas up front.
Collins has been regarded as one of the NFL’s best right tackles for a few years now, but the former high-end prospect-turned-UDFA has not been consistently available during the 2020s. After missing all of the 2020 season due to injury, Collins saw a PED suspension shelve him for five games last year. Still, he came back and regained his job, making 10 starts for the NFC East champion Cowboys. Collins, however, only missed one game from 2017-19.
Dallas cut Collins for financial reasons, with the team’s longtime right tackle following Amari Cooper off the team’s payroll. The Bengals making this signing would nearly complete their O-line overhaul. Burrow, per The Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr., is helping recruit Collins, who is also an LSU alum (Twitter link).
If the Bengals cannot close a deal with Collins on his visit, the Patriots and Dolphins have interest, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets. The Dolphins have already signed ex-Cowboy guard Connor Williams but have needs across their line. The Patriots lost Karras and traded Shaq Mason, and the team may lose right tackle Trent Brown as well.
Eli Apple will be back in Cincinnati in 2022. The Bengals are re-signing the Ohio State product, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter).
The former top-10 pick agreed to a one-year deal worth $4MM. While Apple did not finish his season well, being targeted on the Rams’ Super Bowl LVI-winning drive and giving up the game-winning touchdown, he bounced back on the whole after a 2020 no-show with the Panthers.
Apple started 15 games for the Bengals last season and will see a notable raise, though the 2021 campaign did not result in a substantial market for the ex-Giants draftee. The Bengals gave Apple a one-year, $1.2MM deal in 2021. Apple joined Chidobe Awuzie and Mike Hilton as the team’s top corners; Apple usurped the injury-prone Trae Waynes on the team’s depth chart. Waynes is not expected to be with the Bengals much longer.
While it is not certain if the Bengals will make an effort to upgrade their coverage corps with an outside hire or high draft choice, Apple did intercept two passes last season and play 93% of the snaps for Lou Anarumo‘s resurgent defense. Pro Football Focus assigned Apple a middling grade for the 2021 season.
The six-year veteran would represent a good depth piece, though redeploying him as a full-timer would be somewhat risky for a Bengals team now presented with high expectations. Apple returning, however, means the Bengals stand to have their full five-man secondary back for next season.
The Bengals appear to have found a short-term replacement for C.J. Uzomah. Cincinnati is signing tight end Hayden Hurst, to a one-year deal according to ESPN’s Field Yates (Twitter link). 
[RELATED: Jets To Sign C.J. Uzomah]
Hurst, 28, started his career in Baltimore. He flashed potential in two campaigns with the Ravens, totalling 43 catches and 512 yards in 28 games. With Mark Andrews ahead of him on the depth chart, however, it became clear that Hurst would need to go elsewhere to have an opportunity as a starter. He requested – and was granted – a trade to Atlanta in 2020.
In his first season with the Falcons, the former first rounder played closer to the level he was capable of with increased playing time. He totalled 56 catches for 571 yards and six touchdowns. However, the Falcons drafted Kyle Pitts last offseason, which again limited Hurst’s target share. It’s not surprising, then, that he is on the move again.
In Cincinnati, Hurst will step into a sizeable opening left by Uzomah’s departure. His production in the passing game – along with his blocking ability – should keep him on the field for a Bengals offense which was among the league’s best in 2021. This addition should help compliment the team’s talented WR trio enough for the Bengals to replicate their success in the passing game.
The Bengals are set to retain the top two names on their quarterback depth chart. The team is re-signing backup Brandon Allen on a one-year contract, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero (Twitter link). 
Pelissero notes that Allen “was Cincinnati’s top choice” to serve as Joe Burrow‘s No. 2, so the move shouldn’t come as a surprise. The 29-year-old has been with the Bengals for the past two seasons, after he spent one year in Denver. He’s made a total of nine starts in his career, going 2-7 while completing 56.2% of his passes. The former sixth round pick has thrown 10 touchdowns and six interceptions.
In his time in Cincinnati, the numbers look slightly better. Allen’s completion percentage sits at 60.8% with the Bengals, and his passer rating is 82. While he doesn’t seem destined to find a starting role in the NFL, the former Razorback has clearly pleased the Bengals enough for him to be their preference as a backup.
Before the deal was announced, the Bengals still had just under $13MM in cap space to work with. That should leave them the flexibility to make at least one more noteworthy signing to augment the roster of last season’s AFC-winning team. In any event, they will at least carry over the same quarterbacks that they had that season into 2022.
Today’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
Atlanta Falcons
Chicago Bears
Cincinnati Bengals
Detroit Lions
Green Bay Packers
Miami Dolphins
New Orleans Saints
New York Giants
San Francisco 49ers