The Cincinnati Bengals enter 2025 with high hopes, coming off back-to-back disappointing seasons in which they missed the playoffs. They have been inconsistent on both sides of the ball, especially on defense, where they frequently failed to get off the field. The offense isn’t off the hook either and had its share of several moments where they couldn’t finish drives to put games away. In 2024, the orange and black had several players who had subpar campaigns, and will need them to return to their solid play if they are to reclaim the AFC North. Let’s examine three players who must redeem themselves.
3 Players Who Must Step Up for the Cincinnati Bengals
Evan McPherson
Evan McPherson, who was so clutch in 2022 and 2023, struggled with consistency last season. He would end 2024 with the lowest FG% of his career at 72.7% and missed several big kicks that prevented Cincinnati from winning games. McPherson seemed off the entire year, and a new holder in rookie punter Ryan Rehkow may have contributed to some issues, but it’s something that shouldn’t have phased him. The Bengals would place the veteran placekicker on injured reserve as he missed the final five games of the season with a groin injury. He is focused on revamping his rehab regimen in hopes of regaining the form he produced early in his career.
Myles Murphy
The Myles Murphy experiment has been underwhelming, to say the least, throughout two seasons. The former Clemson product was drafted with high hopes to boost the Bengals’ defensive line. In his rookie campaign, he played in all 17 games as a rotational edge rusher with three sacks and 20 total tackles. Murphy’s sophomore season was doomed from the jump with a knee sprain suffered in training camp. He would miss the first month of the season and didn’t seem to recover, playing in 13 games with 19 total tackles and no sacks. New defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery is tasked with getting Murphy in a better physical and mental position while also varying his pass rush sets so he can find more ways to win.
Geno Stone
The biggest free agent disappointment from last season was safety Geno Stone, who recently took a voluntary pay cut based on his poor play. The team was very familiar with Stone from his time in the division and his success with the Baltimore Ravens, where he had seven interceptions in 2023. It wasn’t all bad for the six-year veteran, especially late in 2024, as he and the entire defense started to play more freely. It seems defensive coordinator Al Golden is inclined to employ a defense that can play in this manner. If this is the case, look for Stone to be in better locations on the field where he can be a hard-hitting force over the middle and a threat to intercept the ball at any moment. The Bengals will gladly take both.
Main Photo: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images
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