Perine last played for the Bengals in 2022, catching 38 passes for 287 yards and four scores. Joe Mixon still managed 1,255 yards from scrimmage despite missing three games. Assuming Perine plays a bit less than he did in 2022, there should still be plenty of meat left on the bone for Chase Brown to push for RB1 status. As Dehner Jr. notes, the Bengals don’t want Brown playing every snap of every game like he did down the stretch last year. That won’t happen in 2025, but Cincy’s light investments in competition for Brown bode well for his odds of staying hot in his third season. The Bengals’ only addition at running back via the draft was Tahj Brooks in the sixth round.

It is worth “up to” $3.8 million per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo. The Bengals were rumored to be considering a power back behind Chase Brown this offseason, but instead they reconnect with their former passing-downs back after Perine spent the last two years in Denver and Kansas City. Perine enters his age-30 season as the clear No. 2 back in Cincinnati and will likely cut into Chase Brown’s passing-down snaps. It’s a bit of a downgrade for Brown, but it was always unlikely that he’d get his end-of-season usage to carry over to 2025.

“That looked like Ben Bredeson’s contract and they have the same agent so…who knows,” were the words of the Tampa Bay Times’ Rick Stroud. There was a brief moment in time where the internet thought journeyman Perine had signed a three-year, $22 million Bucs contract. Eyebrows were raised, to put it mildly. Although he’s still somehow on the right side of 30, Perine struggled to get on the field for the running back-desperate Chiefs last season. He’s unlikely to land guaranteed money, and could wallow on the open market until closer to training camp.

This is a little awkward. The Buccaneers have what looks like a strong No. 1 back in Bucky Irving. They have the final year of Rachaad White’s rookie deal. They have Sean Tucker on a UDFA contract. So they paid $12.5 million guaranteed to add Samaje Perine to the mix? We’re flummoxed by this one. It’s possible that the Buccaneers are trying to trade White and have Perine step in as the passing-downs back. It’s not that Perine isn’t a useful player. This just looks like a team that doesn’t have much of a use for him at the moment.