Lou Anarumo warned everyone what was coming. Before the start of free agency in 2023, in his press availability at the NFL Combine, Anarumo spoke about the “dark day” that would take place if the Bengals lost both Jessie Bates and Vonn Bell in free agency.
Plenty of dark days were on the way. In 2023, the home loss versus Houston and the Saturday night loss to Mason Rudolph in Pittsburgh. In 2024, Monday Night Football against the Commanders, Thursday night in Baltimore and at home in December against the Steelers. In 2025, there was a whole dark season.
For three years, the Bengals never replaced Bates. It turned out that Dax Hill was a cornerback, that Nick Scott and Geno Stone couldn’t tackle and that their depth at that position never developed in a meaningful way. No one knows better than the Bengals how hard it is to land an impact free safety.
On Monday, they opened free agency by paying a premium to finally put an end to the curse of Jessie Bates. According to NFL Network, the Bengals signed two-time Super Bowl champ Bryan Cook to a three-year, $40.5 million deal.
Cook isn’t quite as versatile as some of the other safeties who were on the board. He hasn’t been used as a blitzer, and he isn’t a proven man coverage guy.
He’s a free safety. The Bengals are probably hoping that he plays like Bates.
Cook’s ability to play center field is the first thing that jumps off of the tape. We all remember his tip in the AFC title game in 2023, where he ran stride-for-stride with Tee Higgins and tipped up an interception in the fourth quarter. It was the biggest play of the game.
In the Super Bowl in 2024, there’s a play where Cook reads the eyes of Jalen Hurts, breaks from the left hashes all the way to the right sideline and catches a pass in stride like a wide receiver.
There was a third down play against the Giants in the fourth quarter last year where Cook was guarding the deep half of the field, picked up Malik Nabers as he was streaking down the field and beat Nabers to the catch point for a pass breakup.
Cook only allowed one deep reception in 2025 and three in 2024 (including the playoffs). It doesn’t look like he has been used as a Minkah Fitzpatrick-style safety who plays over the middle, attacks the ball and is a menace to the intermediate passing game. What Cook is is a standout center fielder. He also missed only 11 tackles over the past two years, according to The Ringer. In 2025, he ranked seventh among safeties with 400-plus snaps played in missed tackle rate.
He’s a good player. The Bengals, who had Geno Stone on a pay cut starting at free safety last year paid a premium to make sure that they had a good free safety this year.
The Bengals are expecting a strong year from Jordan Battle, who the coaching staff couldn’t stop raving about at the combine. Between Cook and Battle, safety now looks like a strength of the defense. Outside corner is also a strength with DJ Turner and Dax Hill.
The scheme could be a bit more straightforward as Cook only played 29 total snaps in the slot last year (he played 747 at free safety). The Bengals still need a slot corner (Jalen Davis will compete for that role in camp. Also, the Bengals can still draft Caleb Downs and put him in the slot — that secondary would really be cooking). The secondary isn’t an army of chess pieces right now, but there’s a lot to like about it.
It’s hard to nitpick the decision to sign Cook. The debate here is making such a splash at free safety instead of in the trenches. The only standout interior pass rusher on the market was John Franklin-Myers. He would have addressed the Bengals’ biggest weakness, but signing him for $20+ million would have felt a bit desperate for a 29-year-old with a flawed resume. We’ll see if they add an edge like Boye Mafe or K’Lavon Chaisson (there are a few out there), but there’s a chance that this pass rush still ends up leaving some to be desired and counts on huge leaps from Myles Murphy, Shemar Stewart and a rookie draft pick. The Bengals also need a veteran linebacker (former Chief Leo Chenal makes a lot of sense).
You hear differing opinions around the league about how much safety, especially one who doesn’t move all over the field, is a premium position.
The Bengals clearly were in that camp as they low-balled Bates in 2023 and as they tried addressing that position with lower-tier free agents.
They’ve seen enough.
There are mistakes at safety that you just won’t have to worry about anymore. There will be plays in coverage that you haven’t seen in a few years.
Signing Cook gives the Bengals’ defense an identity that this team can really start to buy into.
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