With the Cincinnati Bengals set to release or trade Germaine Pratt, linebacker should be a major need entering NFL free agency.<\/p>\n
It just so happens that Kansas City Chiefs standout Nick Bolton is set to hit the market for the first time in his career. That\u2019s who USA Today writer Jacob Camenker has the Bengals landing in one of his NFL free agency predictions.<\/p>\n
\u201cHere\u2019s another move where an AFC contender gets better at the expense of the Chiefs. Bolton has been a productive, three-down linebacker for Kansas City, eclipsing 100 tackles in three of his four seasons and logging career-best marks in sacks (3) and pass defenses (6) in 2024,\u201d wrote Camenker. \u201cThe Bengals need a three-down linebacker to replace Germaine Pratt, who requested a trade, and soon-to-be 25-year-old Bolton would be a core building block in Al Golden\u2019s defense.\u201d<\/p>\n
A 2021 second-round NFL Draft pick out of Missouri, Bolton has been a solid starter for a Chiefs defense that\u2019s consistently been among the league\u2019s best units, finishing 11th (2022), second (2023), and ninth (2024) in yards per game allowed over the last three seasons.<\/p>\n
Over The Cap has Bolton\u2019s APY valuation at $9 million, while Spotrac projects him to earn $12.3 million annually. That\u2019s probably too rich for the Bengals\u2019 taste, but off-ball linebackers can have a very volatile market. Perhaps he\u2019ll be someone the Bengals make a push for if they can get him closer to that $9 million-per-year salary.<\/p>\n
\nthis was such a great effort from Nick Bolton to stop Ekeler short of the sticks on 3rd down pic.twitter.com\/7zERLfiJhI<\/a><\/p>\n
— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) September 16, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n