Bengals’ biggest decisions include Tee Higgins, Joe Mixon

CINCINNATI — One day after the Cincinnati Bengals’ season officially ended, scenes inside their locker room offered reminders about the team’s upcoming reality.

Players traded jerseys with personalized messages, a tradition generally observed after games between players from opposing teams who are friends. Others bagged or boxed up their belongings and said their goodbyes before leaving town. And some offered words about an uncertain future.

One of them was defensive tackle DJ Reader, a cornerstone of Cincinnati’s rebuild. A right quad injury in Week 15 ended Reader’s fourth season with the Bengals and the final one under his current contract. Standing on crutches, Reader pondered the end of this current iteration of the Bengals and what free agency might look like for him.

And he had no idea.

“It’s kind of interesting,” Reader said Jan. 8. “I’m in the middle of [the COVID-19 pandemic] last time. This time, I’ll be in the middle of this [injury situation]. You never know. I don’t know how it’ll be.”

When free agency begins March 11, Reader will be one of a few key Bengals who could sign with a new club. According to OverTheCap.com, the Bengals will have a little less than $60 million in cap space.

And Cincinnati will have some important decisions to make ahead of a pivotal 2024 season.