Cincinnati Bengals Re-Signing of George Iloka is a Massive Steal
The Cincinnati Bengals are reportedly able to bring back free agent safety George Iloka. The deal will be made official as soon as free agency officially opens on Wednesday, and it about to be a massive steal for the Bengals.
Adam Schefter of ESPN first officially reported a welcome sign for fans of the Cincinnati Bengals, George Iloka is back. A team with a lot of free agents to bring back this off season, the Bengals clearly have a lot of work to do. Well, arguably the most valuable player of the bunch is back, and on an extremely reasonable deal.
Bengals are giving S George Iloka a 5-year, $30 million deal that includes $18M over first 3 three years.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 9, 2016
If the numbers that Schefter is reporting are correct, the Bengals are going to be paying Iloka a mere $6 million per season. The 25-year-old Iloka is just coming into his prime years as a player, and will undoubtedly be an important part of the Bengals going forward.
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The contract for Iloka is an absolute steal for the team, bringing back arguably the best young safety in the NFL at an extremely reasonable cost.
Iloka is a free-ranging safety who can step up and make plays all over the field. He is a strong coverage player who shows the necessary athleticism to defend the most difficult match-ups the league has to offer. Iloka also shows great ability in the box by continually making plays against the run.
He has typically played more of a strong safety role with the Bengals, but he has the natural skills and athleticism to play the free safety as well. It is unclear whether the Bengals will be able to get free safety Reggie Nelson back, but signing Iloka gives them security at that position as he has the obvious talent to handle either safety position.
It will be interesting to see who the Bengals can afford to bring back or add to their roster this off season. This could be a new-look team entering the 2016 season, but no matter what else happens, they have landed a monster steal of a deal in their contract with Iloka.
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He is a true play-maker in the secondary who will undoubtedly help keep the Bengals’ defense on track. Iloka is clearly an important piece for the team moving forward. Incredible job by the Bengals getting him back at such a reasonable cost.