Earlier Monday, the Bengals landed their first free agent addition of the offseason. According to Insider Tom Pelissero, former Kansas City Chiefs safety Bryan Cook has agreed to a three-year, $40.25 million deal with the Bengals.
The NFL legal tampering period opened Monday at noon, and free agency officially opens at 4 p.m. Wednesday when new contracts can become official.
Cincinnati was in need of some pass-rushing help after the departures of free agents Trey Hendrickson and Joseph Ossai, who landed with the Jets on Monday. The Bengals are hoping Mafe can be the next breakout player, similar to Hendrickson when he arrived in 2021.
Mafe had just two sacks in 2025, but was eighth in pass rush win rate among edge rushers according to ESPN/Next Gen Stats. He had six sacks in 2024.
Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin, while speaking at the NFL Combine two weeks ago, praised the Seahawks defensive line play, particularly the pass rush, as a big reason they won the Super Bowl this past season. Now Cincinnati benefits from a piece of that.
Mafe appeared in 65 regular-season games and four playoff games after joining the Seahawks as a 2022 fourth-round pick out of Minnesota. He had 164 tackles, 20 sacks, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries in the regular season and seven playoff tackles. Five of those came during the team’s run to the Super Bowl title.
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