Cincinnati has announced their first elimination from the Jungle before next season. This comes in the form of a player who didn’t live up to his expectations. But with his exit, the Bengals can actually reap a lot of benefits they couldn’t get with him on the roster. It’s like he was an extra piece of luggage that could have stopped the Bengals from flying in 2025. And considering the offseason business, the Bengals need to focus on. Their $24.5M defensive tackle was turning out to be a thorn in their path to achieving some bigger ambitions.

Today, Bengals’ beat reporter Kelsey Conway tweeted, “The #Bengals have started making their first wave of cuts as the team announced the release of DT Sheldon Rankins.” See, Sheldon Rankins was coming off a somewhat incredible one-year with the Texans. In his 15 starts in Houston, Rankins finished 3rd in his team with 6 sacks. So, when the Bengals gave him a two-year, $24.5M contract, they expected something more from the 10-year veteran. However, all they received was a season full of disappointment.

Rankins only managed to start seven games, logging in 18 total tackles and just 1 sack. He couldn’t play the remaining 10 games because of his constant troubles with hamstring and illness. Like the writing was on the wall for Rankins when the Bengals eventually added him to their non-football illness list in December. It was only a matter of time before the Bengals kicked him out, considering the huge cap space he carried. Yes, getting him off the books will save the Bengals $9.6M in cap space.

You know what this means. The Bengals had a projected cap space of $58M per Spotrac before Rankins’ release. And with him gone, this value could skyrocket over $67M. Surely, it will be enough for them to wrap up three of their most-prized assets contracts. Two of them are obviously their receivers, Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase. Another player who could also land a big deal in the summer might be defensive end Trey Hendrickson. His 4-year, $60M contract is also coming to an end. And they would probably not want someone who has produced 17.5 sacks a season in consecutive years to walk out for free.

Like it’s high time the front office starts writing some cheques. Because not only does Rankins’ release give them a huge opportunity to sign three of their star players. The NFL has also chipped in with some help for the Who Dey Nation. Their decision on salary cap space can probably throttle the Bengals to a Super Bowl trip next season.

NFL’s salary cap space decision to help the Bengals in retaining star cast

You could probably fail to identify a team that actually benefitted more than the Bengals with the NFL’s latest announcement. Their decision to increase salary cap space from $277.5M to $281M is just the cherry on top of the Bengals’ offseason goals. With an increase in the cap space, Joe Burrow might be smiling somewhere from his living room right now. Just ahead of the Super Bowl, there were talks of him getting his $275M contract restructured. He just wanted to keep his boys together, no matter whatever the sacrifice he had to make. “We have the cap space to get it done. I want to make it happen. Everybody involved. Trey, Tee, Ja’Marr and Mike Gesicki, we all want to stay together.”

Well, that wish could soon come true. As Front Office Sports Alex Schiffer wrote, “For a team like the Bengals, which currently has two disgruntled receivers on its roster, the higher cap makes it easier to keep both players.” Actually, there’s already movement on that front. The Bengals are leaning towards franchise tagging Tee Higgins yet again before the window closes on March 4th. Then, the Bengals could also make Triple Crown winner Ja’Marr Chase probably the highest-paid receiver with his new deal. Jordan Schultz of Fox Sports believes it could be a deal of around $40M per year for Chase.

There’s already a growing feeling Chase might top Justin Jefferson’s $140M contract extension that earns him $35M per year. So, it’s probably safe to say. The Bengals’ future might be secured in the next few days. And who knows, Joe Burrow could get another shot at a Super Bowl with his Avengers-like cast still intact.