The deal also helped give him more guarantees after he worried earlier this offseason he might lose his job all together. Cincinnati added $1.5 million in guaranteed money, which historically has been enough to prevent the team from cutting a player. Stone signed a two-year, $14 million contract last March and was set to make $6.475 million in 2025.
“At the end of the day it is business,” Stone said Tuesday after the Bengals’ first on-field practice as part of the voluntary offseason workouts. “This is a business, and they’re trying to do the best for the team, and I understand that as well. And I want to do the best for the team too. If that’s able to get Trey (Hendrickson) back or whatever gets him here, signed, I’m gonna do it.”
“That’s a guy we really want, so, that’s something I was willing to do for the team,” Stone added.
Stone said he considered telling the Bengals he would not take a cut, but he made the decision that was best for him and the team. Cincinnati also re-worked Zack Moss’ deal recently to save about $1.7 million in salary and cap space, and every bit could potentially help front-load a new deal for Hendrickson.
Having a consistent pass rusher like Hendrickson, even when he’s not getting a sack, makes the entire defense better, and Stone is looking for a bounce-back season for himself after struggling in his first year with the Bengals.
Stone finished with four interceptions but three of them were over the five-game winning streak to end the year, and there was much speculation this offseason the Bengals might move on from him. That thought creeped into Stone’s head, he admitted.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
“I wasn’t sure, but you know, at the end day, I’m here,” Stone said. “I’m gonna give my all wherever I’m at, like I’m here right now. So, you know, that’s something I owe them. I signed here. I want to own what I want to do for them. You know, honestly, I was upset myself a lot last year, just the way my play was early in the year. I got put in situations I would say I really never had in my career like that, and that had nothing to do with anyone else. It’s just me. So that was a big learning point for me in my career, and I feel like I’m ready to bounce back from that.”
After the NFL Combine, Stone came back to Cincinnati to check in with new defensive coordinator Al Golden and others on the coaching staff. It was then they laid out their vision for him and gave him some reassurances he still fit in their plans.
The Bengals backed up that sign of faith when they didn’t go out in free agency and immediately sign any safeties, nor did they draft any.
“When I sat down with them, I told them I want to embrace that leader role in the room, and we had a long talk, and that’s kind of what they told me, you know, that I gotta be that guy this year to lift the whole group up and, you know, just be who I was before,” Stone said. “So that’s kind of what I want to do. You know, I told (secondary coach) Chuck (Burks) when I first got here, I said I got that seventh-round mentality again. It’s not like I lost it or nothing like that. I just feel like, I mean, I didn’t want to say I got too comfortable, but, you know, at the same time, I want to get make sure I’m day in, day out competing and work my butt off and make sure that everyone else is getting better around me.”
In that meeting, Golden also showed some areas in his game that needed improvement, mainly his tackling angles.
Stone said last year he got put in situations last year where he didn’t have the best pursuit angles, but Golden’s emphasis on more tackling circuits in practices will help give players like Stone more reps and a “better foundation” for the season.
Golden also is more detail oriented and provides less “gray area,” Stone and others have pointed out when contrasting what’s different than past years under Lou Anarumo. A fresh start under a new coordinator has been good mentally for the defense, and camaraderie – where everyone is coming together to learn a new system – already is showing the first week on the field with coaches, Stone said.
The re-set for Stone especially has been good, even though he had a strong finish in 2024 to build on this year.
“Honestly, this year, I’m trying to go in with a clear mind,” he said. “Last year, the way I finished, I feel I did a good job at the end, wish I would have started earlier, you know, just getting comfortable like that. But, you know, this system, I think fits me really well. I love the way Al is teaching it. ... I feel like this is gonna be the year for me. It’s gonna be a big year for all of us. I feel like we can do what we want this year.”
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