Apr. 27—Cincinnati Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin spent a lot of time in his press conference Monday talking about "layering costs" and using "every resource available" to put together the best roster possible.
The acquisition of Dexter Lawrence ate up a lot of the remaining cap space and pushed the Bengals near, if not at, the top of the league in offseason spending. There's still one clear way they could open space without taking away from the current roster.
A restructure of Joe Burrow's contract sounds more like a possibility than it did in February when Tobin was first asked about whether that was a consideration.
"Those are things that we're working through after the draft, and again, we've layered in challenges, but we're up to them," Tobin said during a 40-minute press conference. "And we do it because we got the opportunity to add the right people and the right players, and those are challenges that the locker room isn't interested in. They're interested in having the best team possible, and that's what we're trying to give them is the best team possible.
Bengals: Taylor 'couldn't be happier' with state of roster after draft
A contract restructure with Burrow would solve a lot of concerns, but at the NFL Combine in February, Tobin seemed down on the idea of pushing costs to future years. It's clear the organization is invested in winning this year, but the Bengals don't have much cap space left to make additions if another player who can help becomes an option or if another need arises.
Perhaps that is why Tobin's tone changed Monday on the topic of a restructure.
Tobin said he was pleased with the offseason decisions made to this point with key free agent additions like edge rusher Boye Mafe, safety Bryan Cook and defensive tackle Jonathan Allen, in addition to the pre-draft trade for Lawrence.
The Bengals gave up a 10th overall draft pick to make that trade happen with the New York Giants, but on Day 2 they got an edge rusher they really liked in Texas A&M's Cashius Howell and a cornerback with elite length in Washington's Tacario Davis. They aren't relying on any of the draft picks being immediate starters but got good depth in areas of need.
"After free agency, our team was pretty complete," Tobin said. "We didn't have a lot of holes. We have a lot of guys that have played a lot of football. We have young guys that are just starting to find their groove and play really well for us. So, it frees you up a little bit. You don't want to be drafting for starters. If your draftees become starters, that's great. But you don't want to be reliant on them to start immediately, and that's now where our team is.
Tobin said the Bengals didn't go into the draft thinking they were going to exclude any certain position, but the decision not to draft a linebacker speaks to the confidence the organization has in Demetrius Knight and Barrett Carter. That echoes comments from coach Zac Taylor and defensive coordinator Al Golden, as well.
The best thing they might have done for the linebackers, Tobin said, was improving the defensive line, but that doesn't mean they won't look to add.
"We'll always look at adding the right guy again," Tobin said. "Again, I am not down on my linebackers. They individually will improve and collectively will improve by what we've done and the experience that they've gained. If there are people that we think can add to the group, we'll add to the group. We're not done roster building. ... I mean, you're never done roster building. But I feel very good about our roster as it sits right now."
According to OverTheCap.com, the Bengals have just $7.5 million left in cap space, though, and a lot of future money is tied up in current contracts.
That could impact the ability to get extensions done for Dax Hill and DJ Turner, as well as the fifth-year option plan for defensive end Myles Murphy, which would guarantee the 2023 first-round pick $14,475,000 in 2027. The decision on that fifth-year option needs to made by Friday.
"The desire will always be to keep guys," Tobin said. "It's how to fit it together. And that's something that we'll be going through, the drafts over now. We've got some time to look at the forecast on where we are. We know where we are. We've layered in a lot of cost and there are restrictions on what you can do there, and when you're sitting at the top of the league in spending, it's pretty restrictive, but we'll see what can be done. If anything can be done. We're focused on this year, and the guys are all under contract this year, and that's the focus. And then we'll try to see what comes after that."