The Bengals probably won't gain any top players during the NFL free-agent signing period, which begins today. But they don't intend to lose leading performers, either.
Failure to lure free agents will give the Bengals a financial head start at attempting to extend the contracts of defensive linemen John Copeland and Dan Wilkinson, who become eligible to join the open market after 1997.
Impact players such as linebackers Chad Brown, Wayne Simmons and Derrick Thomas and cornerback Rod Woodson are expected to remain out of the Bengals' price range. Cincinnati also has little chance of retaining running back Garrison Hearst, who will command more than the $2.06 million he earned last year.
Still, plenty of capable veterans - offensive tackle Brad Hopkins, cornerback Ray Buchanan and linebackers Michael Barrow and Darrin Smith - could be affordable and available, because spending is likely to be curbed.
If the Bengals can't improve their depth in the primary areas of need - linebacker, cornerback and offensive line - they'll look harder at using their money on Copeland and Wilkinson.
Ideally, the Bengals would pursue a linebacker or two to
accommodate their transition to a 3-4 defense. That would mean Chad Brown, who finished second in the AFC with 13 sacks last year; Simmons, who bolstered Green Bay in its Super Bowl-winning drive; or Thomas, a Pro Bowl selection in all eight of his seasons.
But, Bengals General Manager Mike Brown said, ''We're under a greater (salary) cap restraint than we were a year ago,'' when Cincinnati had around $4 million available.
Though a list published recently in Sports Illustrated claimed that the Bengals' 1997 salary obligations stood nearly $9 million below the NFL's per-team cap of $41.45
million, that didn't include the rookie salary pool and money set aside for player grievances or performers on injured reserve.
''We're in better shape than a lot of teams,'' Bengals director of pro personnel and scouting Jim Lippincott said. ''If we get one or two guys, we will have done well.''
One guy Cincinnati would like to have is Hearst, who helped galvanize the offense by gaining 847 yards last season. The Bengals will try to make themselves heard in the bidding.
The Bengals declined to make Hearst a ''transition'' or a ''franchise'' player,
showing their reluctance to chase him with full gusto.
None of the Bengals' six other unrestricted free agents match Hearst's impact, though they would like to keep offensive lineman Kevin Sargent, who missed the 1996 season with a neck injury.
''I think his first choice would be to stay with the Bengals,'' said Sargent's agent, Mark Bartelstein.
The same could be said of wide receiver Darnay Scott, the most valuable Bengal among the club's six restricted free agents. But restricted free agents rarely change teams, because of compensation and the right-of-first-refusal obligation which accompany their status.
''We're counting on them returning,'' Mike Brown said.