Bengals upcoming free agents earning new contracts entering Week 14

The Cincinnati Bengals have some players headed to free agency making big statements down the stretch this year.

While the focus is on the Bengals’ playoff hopes and Joe Burrow’s successful return, looking ahead to 2026 reveals some interesting scenarios starting to unfold when it comes to the team’s future decisions.

Here’s a quick look at some players making a serious case for contract extensions with the Bengals.

Bengals free agents earning new deals

Joe Flacco

Obvious, right? Flacco wants to start in the NFL, he’s said as much, without needing to say so. But if the Bengals can convince Flacco to come back for his age-41 season after he sees what else is out there, they will be better for it in 2026. And frankly, he might agree after how much fun it seemed he was having while throwing it to Ja’Marr Chase.

RELATED: Bengals’ playoff outlook, standings update after win vs. Ravens

Dalton Risner

Risner popped right back in the lineup recently and continues to be part of a group that looks much improved. There’s a chance the Bengals go with a big draft pick or free agent to keep loading up in the trenches. But even if it’s just retaining Risner as a backup, it’s clear he should be part of the plans.

Noah Fant

Fant has scored three times on 32 catches over 11 games this year. He’s not necessarily ever going to bump Mike Gesicki as top dog. And the Bengals would really like to get Erick All Jr. back and in the mix. Still, Fant has proven himself quickly, will still be under 30 years old in 2026 and would eliminate the position as a need if they can do another deal.

Joseph Ossai

Ossai took a prove-it deal this offseason and continues to do so. He stepped up big during the upset in Baltimore. He’s got five sacks on the year over 12 games and has nice pressure rates. What’s interesting is just what type of market he drums up around the NFL. The Bengals do have big investments in Myles Murphy and Shemar Stewart, so he might want more of a guarantee he’ll be an every-down player, even if that means a different team. But the Bengals should want him back, given the extent of the rebuild on that side of the ball.

The Trey Hendrickson debate

The franchise tag is an option with Trey Hendrickson. It would roughly come in around the same cash amount as what they paid him this year on the reworked deal. Whether the team wants to go through yet another summer of drama with the All-Pro edge rusher remains to be seen. But there’s some merit to the idea of spreading the saved money across the defense and just rolling with Murphy and Stewart. The other side of this coin, though, is letting a veteran All-Pro go. Letting others with that distinction, such as Jessie Bates, get away in recent years hasn’t exactly worked out well for the Bengals.

RELATED: Bengals’ win vs. Ravens spotlights Hendrickson, Higgins injury watch

This article originally appeared on Bengals Wire: Bengals upcoming free agents earning new contracts entering Week 14