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The Cincinnati Bengals have agreed to terms on a contract with free-agent defensive end Boye Mafe, his agent Mike McCartney wrote on X on March 9. The Enquirer confirmed that it is a three-year, $60 million deal.
Following the departure of Trey Hendrickson, the Bengals needed a pass rusher.
Mafe, 27, comes to the Bengals after four seasons with the Seattle Seahawks. In Seattle, Mafe played 65 games and recorded 20 sacks.
The Bengals went into the legal tampering period of free agency with a plan to add impact players on defense.
Bengals head coach Zac Taylor opted to retain defensive coordinator Al Golden for a second season despite Cincinnati’s issues on defense last season.
The Bengals finished No. 32 in rushing yards allowed (147.1), No. 31 in yards allowed per game (380.9) and No. 30 in points allowed per game (28.9) last season.
Cincinnati also struggled to get to the opposing quarterbacks consistently. The Bengals logged 35 sacks in 2025. The past two seasons, the Bengals have ranked in the bottom half of the NFL in sacks.
Bengals director of personnel Duke Tobin vowed to fix the pass rush following the 2025 season.
“Pass rush is king, and you always need to be layering in pass rusher,” Tobin said during a postseason press conference in January. “It can develop from within your team, and I think we've seen some of that start to develop from within our team. And then I think we need to find some from external sources, as well."
This is a breaking news story and The Enquirer will update this story.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Bengals agree to terms with defensive end Boye Mafe
Continue reading...
Following the departure of Trey Hendrickson, the Bengals needed a pass rusher.
Mafe, 27, comes to the Bengals after four seasons with the Seattle Seahawks. In Seattle, Mafe played 65 games and recorded 20 sacks.
The Bengals went into the legal tampering period of free agency with a plan to add impact players on defense.
Bengals head coach Zac Taylor opted to retain defensive coordinator Al Golden for a second season despite Cincinnati’s issues on defense last season.
The Bengals finished No. 32 in rushing yards allowed (147.1), No. 31 in yards allowed per game (380.9) and No. 30 in points allowed per game (28.9) last season.
Cincinnati also struggled to get to the opposing quarterbacks consistently. The Bengals logged 35 sacks in 2025. The past two seasons, the Bengals have ranked in the bottom half of the NFL in sacks.
Bengals director of personnel Duke Tobin vowed to fix the pass rush following the 2025 season.
“Pass rush is king, and you always need to be layering in pass rusher,” Tobin said during a postseason press conference in January. “It can develop from within your team, and I think we've seen some of that start to develop from within our team. And then I think we need to find some from external sources, as well."
This is a breaking news story and The Enquirer will update this story.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Bengals agree to terms with defensive end Boye Mafe
Continue reading...
