Last month, the Bengals said they were committed to taking a long look at every phase of their linebacker room under new position coach Mike Hodges, and they apparently made their first play for depth this offseason Monday night when published reports had them agreeing to terms with veteran Eagles linebacker Oren Burks.
Burks, a career special teamer with 17 starts in 108 games, is fresh off playing nearly every snap in the Super Bowl win over the Chiefs in which he had five tackles playing in place of the injured Nakobe Dean.
On the heels of that news came another report that Bengals special teams captain Akeem Davis-Gaither, a linebacker they took with the fourth pick in the 2020 draft, secured a two-year, $11 million deal in Arizona.
In Burks, 29, the Bengals are getting an experienced vet used to coming off the bench in big moments. Of his top-six games of defensive snaps, four have been in the playoffs and two have come in the last two Super Bowls.
At last month's NFL scouting combine, director of player personnel Duke Tobin said the Bengals were examining the backer situation, currently manned by starters Logan Wilson and Germaine Pratt. Reports had Burks taking a two-year deal for $5 million.
"I wouldn't call it a revamp, but it's a position we're looking at. I think we need some linebacker unit help to be honest with you," Tobin said. "We'll look and see what it looks like. How are guys feel about our current guys and what roles they will have and what we're looking for in the next group, whether we need a third or a fourth, a fifth or do we need special teams guys?
"Those are all the things that we'll look at in that position group. I don't think that we got everything we wanted. The tackling in that group wasn't what it needed to be at times. Other times they were really good. So what's the truth? We'll get to the bottom of it and decide what the best way going forward is."
Playing for the 49ers in the 2023 Super Bowl against the Chiefs, Burks played the second most snaps of his career with 71 and played 14 more in the kicking game during the overtime loss to Kansas City.
A third-round pick out of Vanderbilt in 2018 by the Packers, Burks filled in for Dean during the entire playoff run with 25 tackles, three for loss, one sack, two QB hits while playing 68, 71, and 55 snaps in the three games.
Davis-Gaither had five tackles on a special teams unit this season that led the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus grades. When Wilson suffered a season-ending knee injury, he logged career-highs with seven starts and 82 tackles, four for loss.
