During last season, the Cincinnati Bengals won 11 games with their strong front seven and balanced offense. The Bengals are one of the most complete teams in the AFC, and a large part of the country considered them a championship contender. Despite being a very good team, the Cincinnati Bengals rely on their young, inconsistent quarterback, Andy Dalton. This has caused some issues with the Bengals, especially in bigger games. Although the Bengals are a complete team, there are a few places where this team can improve. One of the places where the Cincinnati Bengals can improve is in the defensive secondary, where they lack a great play-maker. Cincinnati is also expected to lose three defensive backs, which lessens the depth of the unit. Cincinnati could also use more depth on the defensive line, since star defensive end Michael Johnson is heading toward free agency. Along with these two positions, another talented receiver next to A.J Green would definitely help a young Andy Dalton. During free agency, the Bengals will have possibly the most manageable situation in all of the NFL, with over $30 million in cap space and an already talented group of players. I'm expecting the Cincinnati Bengals to do two things during free agency. The first is to find a replacement for Michael Johnson, and the second is to add a little more talent to the secondary. If they can do this, the Cincinnati Bengals could go from a good team to a great team.
Pittsburgh Steelers: Finished 8-8Despite winning 6 of their last 8 games and having a chance at a wild card spot, the Pittsburgh Steelers went 8-8 and missed the playoffs for a second year in a row. Unlike what I said about the Cincinnati Bengals, the Pittsburgh Steelers probably have the toughest situation heading into free agency, with several players leaving and a low amount of cap space to work with. The Steelers have plenty of issues along the depth chart, with needs in the secondary, defensive line, offensive line, and receiving corps. The most important of these issues are most likely on the offensive line. Pittsburgh is expected to loose five lineman this off-season, and keeping Ben Roethlisberger upright is probably the most important goal in this offense. The Steelers are also going to loose five receivers, which only makes this average passing game worse. In addition to these holes to fill on offense, Pittsburgh's defensive secondary is getting older and slower, and is mediocre at best. The Steeler's front office also has a very challenging financial problem, as well. The Pittsburgh Steelers are currently $5.9 million over the cap limit, meaning that the organization will have to release players before they can sign any more during free agency. Since the team has such a small amount of money to work with, I would expect the Pittsburgh Steelers to make very few cheap signings, despite the large amounts of needs within the organization. Similar to the Dallas Cowboys, the Steelers will have to hope for their rivals to fail if they want to be successful this season.
One year after winning the Super Bowl, the Baltimore Ravens had a very disappointing season, going 8-8 and missing the playoffs. The free agency period last year completely decimated the Baltimore Ravens' roster, especially on defense. Although the Ravens' defense did not play great last season, it far surpassed their offense, which ranked last in the running game and also struggled in the passing game. Torrey Smith is a good wide receiver, but he is not a superstar pass-catcher that can help Joe Flacco. Currently, there are four receivers heading toward free agency, making this one of the bigger issues for the Ravens this off-season. Baltimore could also improve on the offensive line, which was awful in the running game. The Ravens' offensive line led the way for Ray Rice and Bernard Pierce for only 3.1 yards per carry. The O-line for the Ravens also allowed 48 sacks, which is one of the worst in the NFL. Fortunately, general manager Ozzie Newsome has over $28 million in cap space, which should be plenty of space to fill in the major needs of this team. During the 2014 free agency period, I'm expecting the Baltimore Ravens to sign multiple wide receivers to compliment Torrey Smith and several lineman to improve an awful O-line during the 2013 season. If Baltimore can make these additions to the offense, then I believe that the Ravens will have a chance to sneak into the postseason.
Throughout the last few years, the Cleveland Browns have been a punchline in pro football, rarely managing to win games with bad players and worse coaches. But this off-season, the Browns finally have a legitimate chance to turn their fortune around, making them possibly the most interesting team during this free agency period. Despite their record, the Cleveland Browns have a decent amount of talent on their team, with six players making the Pro Bowl last year. The one major concern on this Cleveland Browns team is obviously quarterback. All of the Browns quarterbacks to start this year did not play well, and this position seems to be the key piece that this organization is missing. But, I'm not expecting Cleveland to find their new quarterback during free agency, since they have the 4th overall pick in May's Draft. Instead, I'm expecting the Browns to add depth along their defensive front seven, especially along the defensive line. A solid running back would also help this team dramatically, since the team only averaged 4 yards per carry last season. The Browns' front office has plenty of money to fill all of this organization's needs, with a whopping $41 million in cap space. If spent wisely, this large amount of cap room can help this team go from laughing stock to an immediate division contender. But, if the money is not spent wisely during this free agency period, the Cleveland Browns will be set back at least another five years.
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