Cincinnati Bengals: Bobby Hart signing an attempt at a cheap fix
By Kenn Korb
Some thoughts on the Cincinnati Bengals signing former Giants offensive lineman Bobby Hart, and what it means for the team going forward.
The Cincinnati Bengals offensive line has been on a deepening path of despair for multiple seasons now. It was already bad following 2016, having given up 46 sacks that season. They then lost the best two players from that group in free agency, leaving the group with a single competent member (Clint Boling) on a unit comprised of failed draft picks and over-the-hill castoffs.
It’s almost as if the plan was to get worse, because while moves were made elsewhere to cause excitement (seven deep at wide receiver? Awesome!) the unit which would actually allow the rest of the offense to function fell further into disrepair; eventually, the season would end with another 40 sacks allowed and their best lineman forced to play at a position he was clearly worse at (Boling finished 2017 as the left tackle) just to attempt reaching the heights of subpar play.
The lesson of the past couple seasons’ line woes clearly is that the team should invest in the position. The hope is that the team (and owner Mike Brown) will dig deeper into their funds than they’re accustomed to so that they can fix issues like this line. The reality is that Cincinnati will likely do what they’ve always done: attempt to fix everything as cheaply as possible.
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That’s what the Bobby Hart signing is. He’s had plenty of starting opportunities with the Giants, but done little to prove he’s worth it. Twice in his three seasons with the Giants, he accumulated 500+ snaps. Those two seasons are his worst performances in a professional career comprised only of poor ones. Each year he’s spent in the league has seen his performance level go down. Per Pro Football Focus Edge, his overall grade has never been above a 51.7. Last season, he hit rock bottom with a 37.7.
This move is what makes a team like Cincinnati so frustrating. They have plenty of money free on their cap (around $35 million) and 11 draft picks right now. There is plenty available to invest in either one major signing or a multiple mid-tier ones. Cincinnati was right here last season, however, and made no significant moves to fix a broken unit. Andre Smith and a fifth round draft pick (who would be cut before the season) was all they did, and it clearly wasn’t enough. Hart is probably half of the 2018 version of that.
Maybe the gamble works out. Hart’s contract was cheap (barely $1 million), he’s not signed long-term. If things go wrong, he’s easy to move on from. He’s also just 23, so if he does magically become better Cincinnati will have found a steal for 2018 and get first dibs on signing him beyond it. He’ll surely be grateful for them taking a chance on him if he succeeds too, which could help get a potential future deal completed.
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Too bad magic only exists in fairy tales, hyperbole, and metaphors though. As their cheapskate attempts to help their line spectacularly failed in 2017, they will do so again if those hopes actually end up relying at all on Hart.