3 Free Agents the Bengals Need to Sign to Win the Super Bowl Next Season

The Cincinnati Bengals' dream of back-to-back Super Bowl appearances was shattered with a 23-20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game. Now, it's back to the drawing board for an exciting, young Bengals team that would love nothing more than win the franchise's first Super Bowl next season.

In the meantime, general manager Mike Brown must figure out how to improve Cincinnati's roster even more this offseason. The good news is that Spotrac lists the Bengals as having just over $44.5 million in cap space, giving Brown plenty of room to work with.

Here's a look at three free agents the Bengals must sign to win the Super Bowl next season.

Bengals Free Agency

1. Patrick Peterson, CB

The Bengals' cornerback room could use a boost with names like Tre Flowers and Eli Apple becoming free agents. If Brown truly wants to limit the opposition's aerial success, he should make a play for Patrick Peterson. The eight-time Pro-Bowler had a terrific campaign with the Minnesota Vikings, racking up 5 interceptions, 15 broken-up passes and a 59.6% completion rate when targeted over 17 starts. Peterson's efforts earned him an 80.7 overall grade on Pro Football Focus, further proving that he's still one of the best at his position. With the 32-year-old also being hungry for his first Super Bowl title, it's clear that joining the Bengals would be mutually beneficial.

2. Melvin Ingram, EDGE

Although the Bengals' defense was solid this year, one area it struggled in was the pass rush. After Cincinnati finished with only 30 sacks (fourth-fewest), it's clear that the Bengals could use someone like Melvin Ingram. One of the best edge players in the 2023 free-agent class, Ingram is coming off a campaign that saw him tally 6 sacks, 9 hurries and 18 pressures in 17 games (three starts) with the Miami Dolphins. He might not be a Pro-Bowler anymore, but he's clearly effective when called upon both as a starter and backup option. At 33 years old, Cincinnati likely wouldn't have to break the bank to sign him, either, meaning the remaining funds can be used to bring in bigger names at other positions.

3. Vonn Bell, S

Sometimes the most important free agents to sign are the ones that were already on the team. Safeties Vonn Bell and Jessie Bates are set to become free agents and if the Bengals can only bring one back, I'm siding with the former. Bell is coming off a terrific campaign that saw him record a career-high 4 interceptions while matching his previous best with 8 defended passes. He also didn't allow a single touchdown on 53 targets, whereas Bates allowed four on 37. Furthermore, Spotrac projects Bell to be about $4 million cheaper than Bates, who's already had past contract issues with Cincinnati. With Bell playing better and being the more affordable option, it's clear that he's more important to a potential Super Bowl run next season than Bates.

Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Devon Platana also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username PepeSilvia0. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.