3 teams the Jaguars must outbid for OG Kevin Dotson as free agency heats up

2. Cincinnati Bengals

The Cincinnati Bengals were expected to make a deep playoff run in 2023 but instead came crashing down. One big reason was that Joe Burrow wasn't able to stay healthy. He first suffered a calf injury in training camp that forced him to miss time in the regular season. Once he returned, he suffered a wrist injury that sidelined him for the rest of the year.

Although Jake Browning fared well in Burrow's absence, the Bengals' dearth of talent across the roster came to light. Granted, their wide receiver corps was still one of the best in the league but even Tee Higgins couldn't shake off the injury bug. That said, they at least had Ja'Marr Chase and Tyler Boyd in the mix. The same wasn't true for the offensive line, which is a bit surprising when you take into account that Cincinnati made several moves up front the past two years.

The Bengals signed Orlando Brown Jr. last offseason and they brought in Alex Cappa and Ted Karras the year before. Yet, they still struggle to protect Burrow (or Browning). You could make the case that they've already poured resources into the offensive line but that shouldn't stop them from going after Kevin Dotson, who's a much better right guard than Kappa, in free agency.

Although the Bengals aren't the kind of team that goes into a spending spree, they must protect Joe Burrow at all costs. Having Dotson in the fold could help them. The challenge will be to sign him while giving Tee Higgins and Ja'Marr Chase extensions.