{"id":558031,"date":"2026-03-23T00:41:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T00:41:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/558031\/"},"modified":"2026-03-23T00:41:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T00:41:10","slug":"cincinnati-bengals-marquee-free-agent-deal-ranked-among-nfls-10-best-2026-signings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/558031\/","title":{"rendered":"Cincinnati Bengals Marquee Free Agent Deal Ranked Among NFL’s 10 Best 2026 Signings"},"content":{"rendered":"

CINCINNATI \u2014\u00a0ESPN’s Seth Walder didn’t give many “A-” grades or better for\u00a0NFL signings<\/a>\u00a0in the past week, but the Bengals addition of Boye Mafe cracked that group.<\/p>\n

He loved the three-year, $60 million deal Cincinnati landed with the former Seahawk, ranking it as the 10th-best contract hammered out during 2026 free agency.<\/p>\n

“With\u00a0Trey Hendrickson\u00a0and\u00a0Joseph Ossai\u00a0walking out the door, the\u00a0Bengals<\/a>\u00a0badly\u00a0needed some pass-rush help,” Walder wrote. “They got it in the form of Mafe, probably my favorite edge rusher in this year’s free agent class. Mafe has always been something of a win-rate darling. On a new team with more playing time, he has a chance to show the sacks can follow the underlying metrics (as they did in 2023, when he had nine sacks). Though Mafe was more of a rotational player last season than he has been in the past — he started only four games and played only 50% of the snaps — his pass rush win rate at edge ranked in the 86th percentile. It was not a fluke; he was in the 67th percentile in his breakout 2023 season.<\/p>\n

“And he does more than rush the passer. He’s a plus-defender against the run, too, finishing in the 80th percentile in run stop win rate at the edge. At $20 million per year, Mafe is coming in well behind\u00a0Jaelan Phillips\u00a0and\u00a0Odafe Oweh, who agreed to deals for $30 million and $25 million per year, respectively. And yet if you told me a year from now that Mafe had the best year of the three, I would hardly be surprised. I think Mafe will go a long way to helping the Bengals get their defense back on track\u00a0…\u00a0and on a decent contract, too.”<\/p>\n

A Big Addition\"linebacker<\/p>\n

Feb 8, 2026; Santa Clara, CA, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) is pressured by Seattle Seahawks linebacker Boye Mafe (53) in the first half in Super Bowl LX at Levi’s Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Mafe could be shot out of a cannon this fall when it comes to opportunities in Al Golden’s defense. He should get a starting-level snap diet to sink his teeth into for the first time since 2023.<\/p>\n

He’s been around 600-630 snaps the past two seasons, but posted nine sacks and a career-high 58 quarterback pressures when playing 808 snaps in 2023.<\/p>\n

The 27-year-old has all the makings for a breakout season if he can stay healthy and tap back into that 2023 stamina.<\/p>\n

Check out the full ranking\u00a0from Walder here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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