Jim Owczarski

jowczarski@enquirer.com

This week Bengals beat writers Jim Owzarski and Paul Dehner, Jr. break down five free agent questions surrounding the club as they head to the NFL Scouting Combine. The “legal tampering” window begins March 7 and the new league year begins at 4 p.m. on March 9.

In a 2016 NFL offseason that saw teams spend over $1 billion over the first two days of free agency, the Cincinnati Bengals waited a few more weeks and inked sixth-year veteran Brandon LaFell to a modest 1-year deal, $2.5 million deal.

LaFell was coming off an injury-shortened year in New England that was also plagued by drops. He came to the Bengals excited to play opposite of A.J. Green’s double coverage and Tyler Eifert’s presence in the middle of the field, but by the end of the season LaFell wound up as the club’s No. 1 receiver and caught 64 passes for 862 yards and six touchdowns – his best numbers since a career year in 2014.

With that performance – which he turned in despite having torn a ligament in his hand in the preseason – LaFell earned another $500,000 in incentives.

The Bengals coaching staff liked the way LaFell ran his routes and affected defenses in the red zone and LaFell, who will turn 31 in November, is one of the Bengals’ free agent priorities.

For his part, LaFell wants to be back for the same reasons he signed in the first place.

“I’d definitely like to be back but it’s out of my hands, man,” the receiver said. “Whatever happens, happens. But hopefully I’ll be able to come back because I feel like in the second year within the offense with Andy (Dalton), I think I’ll be even better.”

LaFell is one of most productive veteran receivers on the free agent market, which would be headlined by Chicago’s Alshon Jeffery if he is not franchise tagged for the second straight year.

Only the Washington duo of Pierre Garcon and Desean Jackson, Los Angeles’ Kenny Britt and Cleveland’s Terrelle Pryor, Sr. had more yards than LaFell while Miami’s Kenny Stills and Detroit’s Anquan Boldin were the only two to catch more touchdowns.

“For the most part, individually, I got a lot out of it,” LaFell said of his season. “My whole thing was last year I played injured, so that dropped my production off a lot. This year I wanted to come out, I wanted to prove everybody I could say healthy for a full 16 games, I could catch the ball consistency and I could come in and help out this offense.”

In 2017 however, the expectations for LaFell would be different should he return in orange in black.

The club expects Green and Eifert to be healthy and second-year slot receiver Tyler Boyd to continue to improve. The team is also looking for a speed option for the outside to help take the top off the defense against single coverage. That could result in another draft pick to compete with Alex Erickson, Cody Core and James Wright or another veteran who fits that profile.

But for what he did on the field, added to the locker room and his desire to continue on with the Bengals, it seems there is mutual interest having the receiver continue his career at Paul Brown Stadium.

“Everybody wants that security, that multi-year deal with a little security, but hey man, at the end of the day free agency is free agency,” LaFell said. “You never get what you want, you get what you deserve. I’m a firm believer of that. So whatever I get that’s what the man upstairs feels like I deserve. Whatever happens, it happens. Me coming in playing on a one-year deal, that was pretty a much a prove it deal. I proved I could stay healthy, I proved I could catch the ball consistently. I felt like I did that. So whatever happens in March or whenever it happens, it’ll be a blessing.”