Working out extensions with cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick and guard Kevin Zeitler before May 4 is “a big priority” for the Bengals at the moment, writes Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. Both 2012 first-round draftees are eligible for fifth-year options for 2016, and if Cincinnati is happy enough with both players to want to extend them, I’d imagine the team would exercise those options.
While it’s possible that the Bengals agree to an extension with one or both players within the next week and a half, it seems more likely that a deal would be struck sometime later in the offseason. A year ago, no club extended a former first-round pick before exercising his fifth-year option, but several teams finalized new deals with those players later.
Here’s more from around the NFL’s two North divisions:
- A reader asked Peter King of TheMMQB.com (Twitter link) if he thinks the Vikings will trade Adrian Peterson before or during the draft. King says his gut feeling is that Minnesota won’t do that. With $45MM due to the 30-year-old running back over the next three years, it’ll be hard to find the right deal. On top of that, the Vikes want a high draft pick to part with AD.
- Elsewhere at TheMMQB.com, former Packers executive Andrew Brandt is less convinced that the Vikings will hang on to Peterson. As Brandt writes, the key person to smooth tension between a player and his team is usually the agent, but in this case, Ben Dogra has clashed with Vikings management and is doing all he can to get his client on a new team. Brandt views the Cowboys as the best fit for the running back.
- Miami receiver Phillip Dorsett recently paid a visit to the Ravens, sources tell Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun. The team also met with Wake Forest cornerback Kevin Johnson and worked him out, Wilson writes in a separate piece for the Sun.
- Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review provides a breakdown of the Steelers‘ 29 pre-draft visits, while Lindsay Selengowski of DetroitLions.com lists all 30 prospects the Lions brought in for visits.
Zach Links contributed to this post.