
Spoelstra: No need to penalize Ball any further
Erik Spoelstra supports no further penalties for LaMelo Ball after flagrant foul.
The Cincinnati Bengals face criticism for their free-agent signing of Boye Mafe, which has been labeled one of the worst deals of the offseason. Despite a strong previous season, Mafe's recent performance has raised concerns among analysts.
The Cincinnati Bengals continue to take some heat for their NFL free agency moves before the draft.
While the Bengals were overall aggressive in attacking needs, the Boye Mafe signing continues to be the hangup.
Over at Bleacher Report, Gary Davenport spotlighted the Mafe signing as one of the 10 worst deals of the offseason.
“However, this could be a case of the Bengals seeing what they wanted to see—a team hoping Mafe could recapture the form that saw him post nine sacks back in 2023,” Davenport wrote. “But he had just eight sacks over the past two seasons combined and played his fewest snaps in 2025 since his rookie year.”
Mafe was indeed a risky signing. The Bengals, while following their normal contract strategy, seemed to also admit as much because they can get out of the three-year deal worth $60 million relatively easily after the first year.
It’s fair to classify the Mafe signing as a gamble similar to the one the Bengals took years ago when signing Trey Hendrickson, which worked out pretty well. They're hoping he enjoys a similar bump while helping former first-rounders Shemar Stewart and Myles Murphy break out, too.
Overall, the Bengals’ Bryan Cook signing was universally praised, at least. The verdict will remain out on Mafe until the results start to show up on the field, though.
This article originally appeared on Bengals Wire: Bengals accused of worst free-agent signing mistake
Boye Mafe's signing is viewed as a mistake due to his declining performance, with only eight sacks over the past two seasons and fewer snaps played in 2025 compared to his rookie year.
In the 2023 season, Boye Mafe posted nine sacks, but his performance has significantly declined since then.
Gary Davenport from Bleacher Report highlighted the Bengals' signing of Boye Mafe as one of the 10 worst free-agent deals of the offseason.

Erik Spoelstra supports no further penalties for LaMelo Ball after flagrant foul.
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