Jim Owczarski

jowczarski@enquirer.com

Two of the "big three" soon-to-be unrestricted free agents on the Cincinnati Bengals may have escaped, but the club did manage to keep one by re-signing starting cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick. Kirkpatrick tweeted that he signed a five-year contract worth close to $52.5 million, according to league sources.

The No. 17 pick in the 2012 draft, Kirkpatrick has come into his own since assuming a starting role in 2015.

The 27-year-old tied his career high in interceptions with three and broke up 10 passes last year and Pro Football Focus gave Kirkpatrick a 74.7 overall grade, 17th in the NFL and 13th among unrestricted free agent corners.

Bengals' Dre Kirkpatrick: The hard way every time

The site also rated his 2016 performance against go routes as the best in the league after not allowing a catch on nine such attempts while in multiple coverages.

The Bengals clearly valued him as an ascending player, and he proved that after 2015 in which he didn't have an interception and PFF gave him a rating of just under 35, near the bottom of the league.

Kirkpatrick played 2016 under a fifth-year option exercised by the Bengals, which paid him slightly more than $7.5 million.

Keeping Kirkparick salvages a bit of the 2012 draft class as well for the Bengals, who consistently aim to retain their own players. Last year they re-signed safety George Iloka, a fifth-round pick in that draft, and third-round pick Brandon Thompson is also on the roster.

Fellow first-round pick Kevin Zeitler agreed to a $60 million deal in Cleveland while last year Mohamed Sanu, Sr. signed in Atlanta and Marvin Jones signed in Detroit. Other picks like Devon Still, Orson Charles, Shaun Prater and Dan Herron were all eventually released by the team.

Watch live: Dre Kirkpatrick on Beyond the Stripes

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