The Bengals May Have Waited Too Long to Extend DJ Turner

The Cincinnati Bengals' defensive resurgence has been a revelation for fans so far this season. The Bengals rank 14th in the NFL in points allowed per game and 20th in yards allowed per game. Are they elite numbers? Not by any means. But if you told a Bengals fan that’s where the team would stand after five games, they'd absolutely take it, given what the defense has been like for multiple seasons. 

The biggest jump has come from the defensive line, with Boye Mafe, Jonathan Allen, and Dexter Lawrence all excellent on Cincinnati’s defensive front. Mafe is ninth in the NFL in pressures, and the Bengals rank 12th in the NFL in pressure rate at 32.5%. 

However, one of the Bengals' best defensive players has taken the jump many expected him to before the season, leading ESPN’s Field Yates to call him one of the NFL’s most underrated players. 

Yates and his Fantasy Focus Football crew discussed whether to start Zay Flowers this week, given the Baltimore Ravens' wonky quarterback situation as they decide whether to start Lamar Jackson amid injury concerns. 

Yates called him “criminally underdiscussed,” noting that he hasn’t earned any All-Pro or Pro Bowl accolades yet. He also noted how much the cornerback market has exploded over the past year, with guys like Trent McDuffie, Derek Stingley, Pat Surtain, and Christian Gonzalez signing lucrative contracts, with multiple above $30 million a year. Yates says Turner belongs in that tier because of how he has performed against some of the NFL's best wide receivers. 

This is another example of the Bengals' decision to wait on extending a player, costing them a lot of money. Turner was interested in signing an extension this offseason and reported to camp despite not agreeing to a new deal, while many would have sat out, waiting for a new contract. 

The Bengals likely could have avoided paying Turner top-of-the-market money, but now, if Turner keeps up this pace, he will very likely sign for that $30 million AAV or more, which may complicate the Bengals' chances of signing Turner to an extension and basically deems it impossible to sign both Dax Hill and DJ Turner as many had hoped. 

At the very least, Cincinnati would have to create cap space by restructuring contracts or trading players to afford that lucrative extension. 

Cincinnati should try to strike a deal with Turner sooner rather than later, before he becomes completely unaffordable.