Bengals add safety Ricardo Allen to bolster secondary

Updated Mar. 24, 2021 3:29 p.m. ET

Associated Press

CINCINNATI (AP) — The Cincinnati Bengals agreed to a one-year deal with safety Ricardo Allen on Wednesday.

Agent Drew Rosenhaus confirmed the deal to The Associated Press.

Allen was released in February by the Atlanta Falcons. He was a fixture in the Falcons’ secondary since he was selected in the fifth round of the 2014 draft. He started 76 of 77 games and had two interceptions in 12 games in 2020.

Allen recovered from a torn Achilles tendon in Week 3 that ended his 2018 season. He started all 16 games in 2019, when he was Atlanta’s nominee for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award. He had 85 tackles, including a career-high four for losses, and two interceptions; he has 11 career interceptions.

It’s the second consecutive day the Bengals added to the secondary, after the team signed veteran cornerback Eli Apple to a one-year contract on Tuesday.

Last week in free agency, the Bengals also made several moves to improve their defense, adding defensive end Trey Hendrickson, defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi and cornerbacks Chidobe Awuzie and Mike Hilton. They also signed offensive tackle Riley Reiff to help protect quarterback Joe Burrow.

Also Wednesday, the team re-signed running back Samaje Perine to a two-year contract. Last season he had 63 rushes for 301 yards and three TDs, including 95 yards and two touchdowns in a Week 16 win over Houston.

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