The Bengals today elected not to match the offer sheet presented by the Cleveland Browns to WR Andrew Hawkins, a restricted free agent.
“I don’t want to let Andrew go without making note that he has been a very hard working and contributing player,” said head coach Marvin Lewis. “He has set a great example of being a great teammate. But we’re fortunate to have a lot of depth at wide receiver, and we’re excited to move forward. Our leading receivers from last year will all return, and we have another group who know our system and have earned our confidence that they are ready to see more action.
“It’s a given that we will invest in players to the limit of the salary cap, but the system means teams have to make choices, and we don’t believe this match, at this time, would serve our goal of allocating resources roster-wide for the best possible team come September.”
