Three years ago, the Bengals took cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick and right guard Kevin Zeitler in Round One.
And Cincinnati would reportedly like to keep both players around for the longer term.
The Bengals have designs on trying to sign both Zeitler and Kirkpatrick to contract extensions before the May 4 deadline to exercise the 2016 options on both players, Geoff Hobson of the club’s website reports.
Picking up the 2016 option on Zeitler, 25, would cost $8.1 million, while exercising Kirkpatrick’s option would cost $7.5 million. Signing both players to multi-year deals, as Hobson notes, would likely lower their salary-cap numbers for 2016.
Zeitler has been a three-season starter for Cincinnati. He was selected 10 picks after the 25-year-old Kirkpatrick, the No. 17 overall choice in 2012. While Kirkpatrick mainly has been a backup, he has intercepted three passes in each of the last two seasons, and he could have a bigger role with Terence Newman departing in free agency.