It took $86.52 million, but the Cincinnati Bengals lost their starting safeties in free agency this offseason.

Jessie Bates III and Vonn Bell, the two players who were on the field the most for the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2022 season, left in March for the NFC South, with Bates joining the Atlanta Falcons on a four-year, $64.02 million contract and Bell going to the Carolina Panthers for a three-year, $22.5 million deal.

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Into that unsettled situation at the back of the Bengals’ defense stepped Alabama safety Jordan Battle when Cincinnati selected him with the 95th choice in the NFL Draft on April 28.

Bengals coach Zac Taylor said Battle “lingered longer than we thought he would,” enabling Cincinnati to address a position of need in the third round.

“I have high regards for this guy as a safety,” Taylor said. “Again, coming from Alabama – winner. Went there to compete. Went to one of the best high schools – St. Thomas Aquinas – in all of America. Competed there. Went to Alabama to compete there with a number of great safeties in order to win championships, so he’s not afraid of competition.

“And then he’s getting the chance to come here and help us win championships as well, so we think this guy fits everything that we’re about. We sit up here and talk about it all the time. This guy’s A-plus character, a leader on a great team and he’s going to be valuable for us as a safety and special-teams player in the coming year, so we’re excited to have Jordan.”

Joining Battle in trying to fill the Bengals’ void at safety left by free agency are Dax Hill and Nick Scott.

Hill joined Cincinnati in the first round of last year’s draft, but he was on the field more with the Bengals’ special teams than the defense as a rookie.

Scott started 16 games for the Rams in 2022, his first season as a regular in his fourth year with Los Angeles.

“He’s done a number of different things at Alabama,” Cincinnati defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo said of Battle. “Again, another guy that can give us some flexibility. I think we can move him around some, and he’ll be comfortable in all of the jobs that we’ll ask him to do because he was exposed to so much down there. …

“He’s in position a lot to make plays. He’s very rarely out of position. You can see him communicating, which is really important back there, obviously. And you can trust him. You can tell his teammates trust him.”

After going 30 seasons without a postseason victory, the Bengals reached Super Bowl LVI to cap the 2021 season and lost 23-20 to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game for the 2022 season.

Battle said he hoped to be the “that X-factor that gets us to that next level.”

“I’m very excited just knowing the potential this team has to be a contender every year in the AFC,” Battle said. “… Just coming in and being able to be a part of that and being able to contribute to winning however I can whenever I’m on the field is what I want to do.”

Although Cincinnati finished fifth in the NFL in fewest points allowed last season, the Bengals used their first three draft choices this year on defensive players. Cincinnati chose Clemson defensive end Myles Murphy in the first round and Michigan cornerback DJ Turner II in the second.

The three defenders come to Cincinnati after combining to play in six conference championship games, six College Football Playoff games, three CFP national-title games and four other bowls while in college.

“I don’t think it hurts that these guys have played in playoff games, they’ve played for championships,” Taylor said. “That’s what we want to do, and so I think anytime you can add guys to the locker room that understand what that feeling is and what that standard is, it’s a good thing.”

The Bengals open their rookie minicamp on Friday.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.