The Bengals lean on proven winners as free agency gets underway

CINCINNATI (AP) — Coming off a 6-11 season, the Cincinnati Bengals targeted two proven winners in free agency and rewarded another who was already in the building.

The Bengals announced Thursday that left offensive tackle Orlando Brown Jr. had agreed to a two-year extension through the 2028 season. The team also agreed on a $28 million, two-year contract with two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jonathan Allen, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the contract hasn't been finalized.

The 29-year-old Brown, a four-time Pro Bowl selection, won a Super Bowl with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2022 before joining the Bengals in free agency leading into the 2023 season.

With two more Super Bowl champs in safety Bryan Cook and defensive end Boye Mafe also signing this week, Brown said he remains excited about the direction the Bengals are heading.

“We’ve got a lot of special players and a lot of special men in that locker room,” Brown said. “We’ve got one of the hardest pieces of the puzzle in Joe Burrow, so I think it’s important for everyone else around him, including myself, to step up to the plate.”

Allen was a first-round pick by Washington in 2017. He spent eight seasons with the Commanders and played in Minnesota last year. Allen has 45 1/2 career sacks.

Cook, who won two Super Bowls with the Chiefs in his first four years in the league, had the best season of his career in 2025 and now joins the Bengals on a three-year contract.

Cook returns to his hometown of Cincinnati, where he also played college football at the University of Cincinnati.

“My family, we’ve been talking about this for a long time, being able to come back home,” Cook said. “I’m excited for the opportunity and the new chapter in my life.”

During Cook's rookie NFL season in 2022, he created an interception by tipping a pass on one of the most important plays of the Chiefs’ AFC Championship Game win over the Bengals. The Bengals are looking for Cook to make these types of clutch plays in big games over the next few years, and Cook has high hopes for Cincinnati.

“We’ve done it (before),” Cook said. “We can get it done again. That’s always the goal. That’s what we do it for.”

Cook fills a need at free safety that the Bengals hadn’t been able to effectively address since safety Jessie Bates III signed with the Atlanta Falcons before the 2023 season.

Cook’s aggressive style, consistent tackling and playmaking ability are an upside for the Bengals defense.

“He’s going to bring a ton of great energy,” said Brown, who played with Cook in Kansas City in 2022. “He’s a fierce competitor. He loves the game. He has got a lot of personality, you’ve just got to get it out of him a bit. When he first got to Kansas City, he was immediately in the mix in terms of being a guy in the locker room that vets respected.”

The Bengals replaced Trey Hendrickson, who signed with the Baltimore Ravens, by signing defensive end Mafe to a three-year deal. Mafe won a Super Bowl title with the Seattle Seahawks last month, and he’s one of the most athletic young defensive ends in the NFL.

Mafe led the Seahawks in sacks in 2023. A scheme change and further additions to Seattle’s roster led to a reduced role for him. With the Bengals, the 27-year-old Mafe will get the opportunity to be a No. 1 pass rusher again.

“Coming here, talking to the coaches and talking about their plans for the future and what they want to do and build here, that’s what excites me,” Mafe said. “Being a part of the building and seeing it grow, that’s what excites me. Cincinnati has what they need. It’s one of those teams people are going to know about soon.”

AP Pro Football Writer Rob Maaddi contributed.

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FILE - Kansas City Chiefs safety Bryan Cook (6) reacts before an NFL football game against the New York Giants, Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger,File)

FILE - Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) slides to the ground with Seattle Seahawks linebacker Boye Mafe (53) leaping behind in the NFC Championship NFL football game, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/John Froschauer,File)

FILE - Cincinnati Bengals offensive tackle Orlando Brown Jr. (75) walks off the field during halftime in an NFL football game against the Arizona Cardinals, Dec. 28, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean, File)

HAVANA (AP) — Cuba held recent talks with the U.S. government, President Miguel Díaz-Canel said Friday, marking the first time that the Caribbean country confirmed such speculation.

Díaz-Canel said in a speech that the talks “were aimed at finding solutions through dialogue to the bilateral differences between our two nations. International factors facilitated these exchanges.”

He didn't elaborate on those factors, or provide any details about the talks.

The White House didn't return an immediate request for comment on the talks with Cuba.

Díaz-Canel said that no petroleum shipments have arrived on the island in the past three months, which he blamed on a U.S. energy blockade. He said that Cuba is running on natural gas, solar power and thermoelectric plants, and that the depletion of fuel oil and diesel forced two power plants to shut down and has limited the generation of power at solar parks.

Cuba’s western region was hit by a major blackout last week, leaving millions without power.

He said that Cuba, which produces 40% of its petroleum, has been generating its own power, but that it hasn’t been sufficient to meet demand.

The Cuban leader said that the lack of power has affected communications, education and transportation, and that the government has had to postpone surgeries for tens of thousands of people as a result.

“The impact is tremendous,” Díaz-Canel said.

He said that more than 115 bakeries across the island have been converted to run on firewood or coal.

Díaz-Canel said that 955 solar panels have been installed in rural homes and social centers, and that more solar systems will come online before the end of March that will add 100 megawatts to Cuba’s crumbling electric grid.

“Even with everything we’re putting together, we still need oil,” he said.

Díaz-Canel noted that production output also has dropped.

“Without energy, no country can produce at normal levels," he said. "All of this has meant making adjustments to employment.”

Last month, Cuba implemented austere fuel-saving measures.

Díaz-Canel said that the purpose of the talks was to identify “bilateral problems that require solutions based on their severity and impact” and find solutions to them.

The president said that the aim was “to determine the willingness of both parties to take concrete actions for the benefit of the people of both countries. And in addition, to identify areas of cooperation to confront threats and guarantee the security and peace of both nations, as well as in the region.”

He said that Cuba is willing to carry out the process on the basis of equality and respect for the countries’ political systems and for Cuba’s “sovereignty and self-determination.”

Critical oil shipments from Venezuela were halted after the U.S. attacked the South American country and arrested then President Nicolás Maduro.

The most recent blackout was blamed on a broken boiler at a thermoelectric plant that forced the shutdown of Cuba's power grid.

Authorities have noted that some thermoelectric plants have been operating for more than three decades and receive little maintenance given the high cost. U.S. sanctions also have prevented the government from buying new equipment and specialized parts, officials say.

After his speech, Díaz-Canel took questions from a select group of state reporters.

The questions focused mostly on Cuba’s deepening crises, but one reporter asked about the recent shooting of a Florida-flagged boat in Cuban waters in which four of 10 Cubans from the U.S. were killed after the government accused them of opening fire on local troops.

A fifth suspect later died from his injuries, according to the Cuban government.

Díaz-Canel said that FBI officials would visit Cuba soon as both countries continue to share information on the incident.

The five other suspects have been detained and face terrorism charges.

Díaz-Canel spoke just a day after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced it would release 51 prisoners in a move that stems from a spirit of goodwill and close relations with the Vatican.

“It is a sovereign practice, no one imposes it on us,” Díaz-Canel said of the upcoming release. “It responds to our humanistic vocation."

Dánica Coto reported form San José, Costa Rica.

FILE - Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel attends the 17th annual BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro, July 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres, File)