Carlos Dunlap is one of my favorite Bengals players. The dude brings the pass rush every single game and you get the feeling that he wants to be in there on every snap. I follow him on Instagram and his lifestyle in Miami is a mix of Ballers and a Martha Stewart cooking show. Every time he gets on a jet ski or drives around Miami in his Ferrari with his camera streaming on selfie mode I get nervous like a crazy mother that he is going to get in a wreck.
Dunlap has not shown signs of slowing down and has been as consistent of a pass rusher as we could ask for. He has two years left on his deal and is making the third highest salary on the team ($10.9M). When I started at looking to trim fat to fit in Larry Warford, Dunlap hit my radar. I then took a shot of whiskey and said “BengalsGM you crazy, pass rushers are indispensable.” I ran the numbers on Dunlap and he averages 8.8 sacks in a 16 game season. In 10 seasons he has only missed 12 games, 8 of those were his first two seasons….so this guy is durable. He also averages 33.9 tackles per full season.
Dunlap is going to benefit most from Reader and Hubbard this season. Atkins is also going to enjoy that added combo but Dunlap could really feast. Timing would be great for him since he would be looking for an extension in 2021 and age the current age of 31 this would likely be his last contract. I am not sure if the Bengals will keep him in 2021 if Hubbard continues his trajectory and Lawson can make a comeback. Paying older players like this is generally not advised in the NFL but Dunlap has to prove to me first that he is considered an old player.
Atkins-Reader-Dunlap are the top 4 highest paid players on our team, with AJ Green being the most pricey with that franchise tag. I can see Dunlap getting to test FA in 2022 but having him finish out his career as a Bengal and go in the Ring of Honor (funny, because we don’t have one) is certainly achievable. If he continues with this pace he will be the sack leader for the franchise and that is something we all want to see.