The Cincinnati Bengals sought defensive help through free agency, and a Chiefs safety caught their eye. The Bengals made it work by poaching the Chiefs’ safety on a $42.5 million deal, according to a post on X by Jeremy Fowler.
“Sources: Safety Bryan Cook is headed to the Cincinnati Bengals for three years and $42.5M. Cincinnati and agent Jared Fox of @LIFTSPORTSMNGMT hammered out pact today.”
A four-year NFL veteran, Cook started all 17 games for the Chiefs in each of the last two seasons. He totaled 78 tackles in 2024 and upped that amount to 85 last season. Also, Cook defended 11 passes over the last two seasons.
Bengals upgrade defense with S Bryan Cook
The deal puts Cook on the fringe of a top-10 salary at his position, according to Sports Illustrated.
“The new deal makes him the NFL's 13th-highest-paid safety by average annual value,” Russell Heltman wrote.
Cook hit high marks, according to Pro Football Focus. His overall grade of 83.5 ranked No. 4 in the NFL. Also, he posted a grade of 83.2 in pass coverage, ranking No. 6 in the league.
It adds a big plus to the secondary, which is what the Bengals wanted. Cook gives the Bengals a player they can move around.
“We’re looking for versatility,” Bengals defensive coordinator Al Golden said. “I love versatility in our system, in our program, and especially if you can do it without substitution. That’s what makes you dangerous.
“We’ll see where we go here in terms of identifying those things, but you have complete faith in Zac and Duke and what we’re going to acquire here in the next month.”
The Bengals must find a way to get the defense to catch up with the offense. They ranked No. 31 in the league in 2025, giving up over 380 yards per game. The pass defense turned out to be bad, but the run defense was even worse. The Bengals surrendered 147 yards rushing per game.
