Report: The Bengals will sign Geno Stone.
For the following two seasons, the Ravens will have to face the 2023 interceptions leader twice a year.
On the first day of the NFL’s authorized tampering period, former Baltimore Ravens safety Geno Stone found a new home despite the veteran safety market being oversupplied with former All-Pros and Pro Bowlers. Unfortunately, according to a report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, it is still in the AFC North with their rival Cincinnati Bengals on a two-year deal worth $15 million with a $6 million signing bonus.
Stone is coming off a breakout 2023 season in which he set a career-high seven interceptions, leading the Ravens and the entire AFC. In Week 2, he intercepted the franchise quarterback of his new team. He also made career highs in total tackles and pass deflections with 68 and nine, respectively, in 17 games, including 11 starts, during the previous season.
General Manager of the Ravens Eric DeCosta referred to Stone as “the best seventh-round pick” in the team’s history during the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine. The team selected him out of Iowa with the No. 219 overall pick in 2020. After being cut and then brought back as a rookie, he went on to establish himself as a vital member of the special teams and capitalize on his several opportunities to play defense over the previous two seasons, replacing an injured Marcus Williams.
Stone will be joining Cincinnati’s youthful safety corps, which suffered greatly in 2023 following the free agency loss of 2023 Pro Bowl player Jessie Bates in the previous offseason. He will be playing alongside running back Justice Hill, a former Baltimore teammate, and 2022 first-round pick Dax Hill. Depending on what the Ravens accomplish in free agency, his contract will probably result in a late-round compensatory choice in the 2025 NFL Draft for the franchise.
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