Even without the rumored trade for elite wide receiver Justin Jefferson, the Cincinnati Bengals are facing dramatic overturn in the wide receiver room this offseason. As of yesterday, the only wide receiver that I was confident would be with the team next season was elite pass catcher Ja’Marr Chase after wideout Tee Higgins demanded a trade earlier this week and Tyler Boyd is expected to leave this offseason in free agency.
Cincinnati Bengals Retain Key Depth Piece for 2024
Cincinnati clearly made it a point to stabilize contract negotiations for the rest of the offseason as the team decided to re-sign wide receiver Trenton Irwin on Friday afternoon. Irwin entered the league undrafted out of Stanford in 2019 but has made a substantial impact as a depth piece in the Cincinnati wide receiver corps.
While it may not break the Cincinnati salary cap, Irwin accepted a one-year deal worth approximately $2 million to play for the Queen City club in 2024. That will knock the salary cap down to $33 million for the 2024 season as the salary cap space is quickly dwindling for the Bengals. Although Irwin has been a staple on the roster over the past five years, Cincinnati still desperately needs to sign an offensive tackle and is planning to sign a nose tackle in the next week or two prior to the NFL Draft.
While his contract may not seem substantial, Irwin has been critical to Cincinnati over the past few seasons. Cincinnati’s entire offensive scheme relies on having three viable threats at the wide receiver position and it has been rare for Chase, Higgins and Boyd to all be healthy at the same time. In those circumstances, Irwin has stepped in and played spectacularly including the game this past season against the Arizona Cardinals. Irwin managed to put up eight catches for sixty yards in the significant game when Chase was out with an injury.
Over the past two seasons, Irwin has managed 40 catches for 547 receiving yards and five touchdown receptions. He may not put up huge numbers but he has been relied on as an exceptional teammate to keep this wide receiver group functional even when the main cast isn’t healthy. This was a critical signing especially if Higgins carries through with his recent threat of forcing a trade over the next couple weeks. Irwin has been a solid player for Cincinnati and his return provides a little peace of mine to an offensive staff that will already see too many departures this free agency window.
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