Why did the Bengals sign and then waive Fred Johnson?

In an NFL free agency that have had a few eyebrow raising events, the signing and waiving of Fred Johnson by the Cincinnati Bengals is a head scratcher

Jeffrey MayJeff_DiarioASUpdate: Mar 24th, 2022 13:33 EDT

The Bengals have been pretty astute in this free agency period, adroitly retooling one of the NFL’s worst offensive lines. They signed guard Alex Cappa, center Ted Karras, and tackle La’el Collins and looked to have the other side covered as well when they re-signed Fred Johnson to a one-year $2.4 million deal.

Roster Update: We've re-signed restricted free agent OT Fred Johnson to a one-year contract for the 2022 season. pic.twitter.com/IZzK6ctFFZ

— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) March 22, 2022

Then, thirty minutes later, Johnson was waived. It seems a reckless risk for Cincinnati. If anyone claims him off waivers, they will be on the hook for that $2.4 million. The hope seems to be that, if nobody claims him and he enters into unrestricted free agency, the Bengals can sign him at a lower price.

There is every chance that their ploy could come off, since Johnson was undrafted in 2019. In his two and a half seasons with the Bengals he has appeared in 23 games and made eight starts. The Bengals are very much shopping around and having missed out on Terron Armstead, who has signed with the Dolphins, Cincinnati seem to be making a move to give themselves a safety net at tackle in case they can’t find an upgrade.

And just like that, he was gone 😮 pic.twitter.com/UpxfpUvs2E

— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) March 24, 2022