Andrew Whitworth: Bengals are sending "good message" to Joe Burrow with spending in free agency

Andrew Whitworth believes the Bengals sent a good message to Joe Burrow with their spending in free agency

Former Bengals great Andrew Whitworth is the latest player to praise the organization for its’ offseason moves.

Cincinnati committed nearly $150 million to eight free agents, including six potential starters.

“I think it’s a good message,” Whitworth said on The Herd with Colin Cowherd when asked about the Bengals’ spending. “They know they’re about to pick a kid in Joe Burrow who’s special. Who seems to have a charisma and really just a swag about him to be a good football player. You hear him say all of the right things and you see the way his team rallied around him last year and seem to truly love him and thrive off him.”

The Bengals are known for their lack of spending in free agency. In the past they sat out the first couple of weeks and watched as some of the NFL’s best signed elsewhere. Whitworth believes their aggressive philosophy has a lot to do with the No. 1 pick.

“They know we need to make sure that this kid understands that we’re trying to win,” Whitworth said. “It tells me all the way they’re going with Joe Burrow and they’re trying to make that kid feel confident.”

The great NFL teams are aggressive in free agency. This philosophy change can’t last for one offseason. The Bengals need to continue to push the envelope in hopes of putting together the best roster possible. They haven’t done that in the past, even when they went to the playoffs in five-straight seasons from 2011-2015.

“At times in the past that’s what you felt. You felt like ‘hey, we gotta draft perfectly. We gotta raise up every single draft pick perfectly. The coaches gotta do an amazing job, but were never really going to ever pay,” Whitworth said. “Like, ownership, you help us out. Bring in a couple of guys that just talent wise make us better. I think that’s a new thing they’re doing there as far as acquiring talent.”

The Bengals drafted Whitworth in the second round (55th overall) of the 2006 NFL Draft. He spent the first 11 seasons of his career with Cincinnati before signing with Los Angeles in 2016. Whitworth, 38, is the oldest offensive lineman in the NFL. He signed a 3-year, $30 million deal with the Rams this offseason.

The Bengals’ aggressiveness in free agency was a step in the right direction. They need to continue to improve the roster anyway they can in free agency and the draft. 

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