The Bengals have 22 players slated to be free agents this offseason when the new league year begins on March 12 at 4 p.m. Cincinnati has already agreed to an extension with TE Cam Grandy.
There are three different types of free agents, unrestricted free agents (UFA), restricted free agents (RFA) and exclusive rights free agents (ERFA):
UFA: Any player with an expired contract who has accrued four or more seasons (an accrued season is a season in which a player is on a club's active/inactive, reserve/injured or reserve/physically unable to perform lists); these players are free to negotiate and sign with any team as of March 12.
RFA: Any player with an expired contract who has accrued three seasons. RFAs are free to negotiate and sign with any team as of March 12, but their original team can offer them one of various qualifying offers ("tenders") that come with the right of first refusal and/or draft-pick compensation.
ERFA: Any player with an expired contract who has accrued fewer than three seasons. If his original team offers him a one-year contract at the league minimum (based on his credited seasons), the player cannot negotiate with other teams.
Here are the Bengals 2025 free agents:
Unrestricted Free Agents
WR Tee Higgins
DT B.J. Hill
CB Mike Hilton
RT Trent Brown
TE Mike Gesicki
CB Marco Wilson
OG Cody Ford
EDGE Joseph Ossai
LB Joe Bachie
DL Jay Tufele
EDGE Cam Sample
OT D'Ante Smith
RB Chris Evans
Restricted Free Agents
LS Cal Adomitis