Cincinnati Bengals would be wise to tear down roster

The Cincinnati Bengals are starting over for the first time since 2003. In other words, burn it all to the ground.

After 16 years with Marvin Lewis as head coach, the Cincinnati Bengals finally went another direction amid rows of empty seats at Paul Brown Stadium. Out with Lewis, in with Zac Taylor, the 35-year-old former quarterbacks coach with the Los Angeles Rams. With Taylor, there is renewed hope in the Queen City, but real hope can only be born when the current roster is dismantled.

Cincinnati should begin the purge by getting rid of Andy Dalton. The Cincinnati Bengals could likely find a trade partner in a team like the Washington Redskins or Jacksonville Jaguars, both of whom are desperate for a quarterback. Dalton has no guaranteed money left on his deal, with the 31-year-old due $16 million this year and $17.5 million in 2020.

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Despite the large figure, Dalton’s cap hit in 2019 only ranks 22nd in the league. Considering the cap situations in both Washington and Jacksonville, the Jaguars would be the most likely to land Dalton once they release Marcell Dareus and Malik Jackson.

Beyond Dalton, the Bengals should be thinking about trading their best players to acquire draft capital. Cincinnati has some top-end talents in A.J. Green and Geno Atkins, both of whom will likely be at the end of their careers — or at least at the conclusion their respective primes — before the Bengals are ready to seriously compete for a Super Bowl.

Green, 30, is in the final year of his contract and is due $15.1 million. A contender with some cap space would take Green in a heartbeat, even if the trade value was a second-round pick and then some. As for Atkins, he’s locked up through the 2022 season, but the All-Pro has limited dead money the rest of the way and remains one of the game’s elite defensive linemen. Because he’s signed for the next four years, Cincinnati could bring back a considerable haul of picks.

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All that said, there’s no reason to believe this is the direction the Bengals are headed. They’ve largely treaded water for the last 15 years and owner Mike Brown has made no declarations about trying to endure a few rough campaigns in order to enjoy great ones. Still, it’s obviously the best course of action for a franchise that has been playing since 1968 and has yet to win a title.

The Bengals have a fresh start and a young coach in Taylor. Now, they should take it a step further and let the roster be upended, allowing time for Taylor and the new talent base to come together.