The Bengals are doubling down on meetings with draft prospects on the defensive side of the ball on Friday.
Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports that former Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez is visiting with the team. Former Miami edge rusher Rueben Bain is also meeting with the team.
Rodriguez won the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Butkus Award, Lombardi Award, and Chuck Bednarik Award in recognition of his efforts for the Red Raiders during the 2025 season. He finished the year with 128 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, a sack, four interceptions, seven forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and a fumble return for a touchdown. He also ran for a pair of touchdowns while moonlighting as a running back.
The Bengals are set to pick 10th in the first round and adding defensive help seems like a likely direction for a team that’s struggled on that side of the ball for the last couple of seasons.
Rueben Bain’s busy pre-draft season is continuing on Friday.
Per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Bain is visiting with the Bengals on Friday.
Cincinnati has the No. 10 overall pick in this year’s draft.
Bain had a visit with the Chiefs on Thursday after previously meeting with multiple teams, including the Titans and Dolphins.
Bain had a strong junior season in 2025, helping Miami reach the CFP National Championship game. He registered 9.5 sacks with 15.5 tackles for loss plus an interception last season. In his three years with the Hurricanes, he tallied 20.5 sacks with 33.5 tackles for loss.
The 49ers have added some depth to their defensive line.
Free agent defensive end Cam Sample has agreed to a one-year deal in San Francisco, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.
The 26-year-old Sample has played his entire NFL career with the Bengals, who chose him in the fourth round of the 2021 NFL draft.
Sample has been a backup for most of his career, starting just five of the 61 games he has played in. Last year he had two sacks in 14 games.
Having won the CFP National Championship with Indiana in January, running back Kaelon Black has a busy pre-draft schedule.
Black has several teams on his list for pre-draft, top 30 visits, including the Jets, Broncos, Panthers, Colts, Texans, Dolphins, Packers, Vikings, Patriots, and Raiders, a source with knowledge of the situation tells PFT.
He may also meet with the Bengals.
Black played under head coach Curt Cignetti at James Madison for two years before transferring to follow Cignetti to Indiana in 2024.
He rushed for 251 yards for Indiana in 2024 before becoming one of the Hoosiers’ two 1,000-yard backs in 2025, finishing the season with 1,040 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also caught four passes for 36 yards.
The Bengals have parted ways with a member of their 2024 draft class.
The team announced that they have waived offensive lineman Matt Lee. Lee joined the team as a seventh-round pick out of Miami.
Lee appeared in every game as a rookie and made one start. He played in five games last season and saw action on 16 special teams snaps during those appearances.
Lee was behind Ted Karras at center on the Bengals’ depth chart. They have not brought in any new offensive linemen in free agency, so there could be plans to add some depth through the draft later this month.
The Giants have a little more going on than just defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence’s trade request.
Via Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, New York has agreed to terms with veteran offensive lineman Lucas Patrick on a one-year contract.
Patrick, 32, spent last season with Cincinnati, appearing in six games with one start.
Having entered the league as an undrafted free agent in 2016, Patrick has appeared in 113 career games with 65 starts. He spent 2016-2021 with the Packers before playing for the Bears from 2022-2023. He then played for the Saints in 2024.
As expected, former Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love is garnering significant interest at the top of the draft.
Per Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, Love is set to take a pre-draft visit with the Bengals on Monday after already meeting with the Titans and Giants.
Tennessee has the No. 4 overall pick and New York has the No. 5 selection. Cincinnati is at No. 10 overall and it currently appears Love could be off the board by then.
Considered one of the top prospects in this year’s class, Love rushed for 1,372 yards with 18 touchdowns and caught 27 passes for 280 yards with three TDs for Notre Dame in 2025.
He posted a 4.36-second 40-yard dash at the scouting combine, cementing his status as one of the best incoming players in the draft.
Offseason programs will start getting underway around the NFL next week.
The ten teams that hired new coaches this offseason will be eligible to start working with their players on Monday, April 6. The Ravens are the only team that has set that as their first day of work while the Cardinals, Falcons, Bills, Browns, Raiders, Dolphins, Giants, Steelers and Titans have set Tuesday as their opening day.
All of those teams will also be able to hold a voluntary minicamp later in the spring. Every team is also scheduled to hold a rookie minicamp and a mandatory minicamp over the course of the next few months.
The first two weeks of work for all teams is limited to meetings, strength and conditioning, and physical rehabilitation only. The three-week second phase allows for on-field work, but no full-speed team drills while the third OTA phase allows for team drills, but there is no live contact allowed at any point in the offseason.
Most of the 22 teams with returning coaches will be opening their offseason programs on April 20 or 21. The Broncos have set May 4 as their first day.
Safety Kyle Dugger signed with the Bengals this week and he’s looking forward to the chance to rediscover his top form in Cincinnati.
The 2020 second-round pick was a starter throughout his time with the Patriots, but an ankle injury limited him in 2024 and offseason surgery hurt his adaptation to a new defense after head coach Mike Vrabel was hired in 2025. Dugger played sparingly over the first five weeks of the season and was traded to the Steelers at the middle of the season.
Dugger started all nine regular season games he played for the Steelers, but didn’t start their playoff loss to the Bills before moving on to the Bengals as a free agent. After signing his new deal, Dugger said his ankle now feels back to full strength and that leaves him with a positive outlook about what the 2026 season will bring.
“Fresh start and a new opportunity. I’m excited for it,” Dugger said, via the team’s website. “It’s been a rough two years. I’m thankful where I am.”
The Bengals also signed Bryan Cook this offseason and the two safeties will be part of what the team hopes will be a turnaround from two rough years of their own on the defensive side of the ball.
The Bengals are adding to their secondary.
Cincinnati has reached a one-year agreement with safety Kyle Dugger, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports.
Dugger, 30, spent the second half of last season with the Steelers, starting nine games after being traded from the Patriots. He tallied 42 total tackles with five passes defensed and two interceptions.
A second-round pick in 2020, Dugger spent his first five-plus seasons with New England. He’s appeared in 90 career games with 78 starts, recording 11 interceptions with 29 passes defensed.
