Veteran running back Giovani Bernard will hit free agency.
The Bengals announced today that they have released Bernard.
The move was no surprise, as Cincinnati had been looking to trade Bernard but not finding any takers.
Cutting Bernard will save the Bengals more than $4 million against this year’s cap. The Bengals are in good cap shape, but given that starting running back Joe Mixon has a cap number of more than $8.1 million, keeping Bernard at a price tag of more than $4 million would have been too much to commit at running back.
With Mixon injured for most of the 2020 season, Bernard played all 16 games and started 10 of them last year, but he had a fairly disappointing season running the ball, gaining just 416 yards on 124 carries. However, he did add 47 catches for 355 yards, and a team looking for a running back who can provide a receiving threat may be interested.