Can The Bengals Fix All Flash And No Substance?
Credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images
The Cincinnati Bengals are undoubtedly a fun team to watch. While the front office is currently embroiled in a standoff with Joe Burrow regarding roster desires, it’s ultimately up to the Bengals’ front office to decide what they think is best for their franchise. Burrow knows full well the reputation that the front office has, and he’s seen it first-hand. He’s watched players like Jessie Bates III and D.J. Reader walk to other teams.
Currently, the Bengals roster features a lot of spectacular players, and it’s a core that Joe Burrow publicly has told the organization that he wants to stay together. Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Trey Hendrickson, and Mike Gesicki (the core of players he’s referring to) would all be remarkably fun to keep together. However, they would also cost a lot, even though the players have all publicly stated that they’d take a pay cut to stay together.
They took the first step in potentially keeping this group, as on Monday morning, the Bengals put a franchise tag on Higgins with the intent of extending him long-term. This move made him the first player since Cam Robinson (in 2021 and 2022) to be franchise-tagged two seasons in a row.
Those players provide the flash and spark that gave the offense life. However, beyond the monster core of players, there is very little substance to the team overall. The holes on the roster were all too apparent last year, and it’s up to the front office to fix them as the offseason gets underway. Can they fix the roster that’s all flash and little else?
Asking the Bengals front office to work some magic is a big ask. The most magic they’re capable of is making players who want a contract extension disappear. Even though Higgins getting tagged makes it more likely that they’ll keep their core, it’s far from a guarantee. To make matters worse, even if they do keep their expensive pieces, it doesn’t do much more than paper over their flaws.
Burrow has lauded the Eagles’ ability to control their cap situation with their payments to Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley, A.J. Brown, and DeVonta Smith. However, the difference-maker for the Eagles is that their defense is absolutely loaded with talent on rookie deals. They were able to draft and develop the University of Georgia’s entire defense, in addition to the elite rookie cornerback duo of Quinyon Mitchell and the guy whose Super Bowl Pick-6 helped him unseat Caitlin Clark as the world’s most famous athlete drafted out of the University of Iowa in 2024.
Of course, they had flashy pieces. But more importantly, they had depth all over the field, including the less glamorous areas of the roster: their offensive line and run defense, in particular. Meanwhile, the Bengals struggled to develop their defensive players, particularly due to Lou Anarumo’s propensity to play slower veterans over young, budding talent. In the era of Al Golden, adding substance to the roster must begin with properly developing and giving reps to the young talent. Joseph Ossai, Jordan Battle, Kris Jenkins, McKinnley Jackson, and Myles Murphy made impacts in the latter half of 2024 and are all on an upward trajectory. Golden just needs to crack the code.
“We need our young guys to come on,” Joe Burrow said on ESPN’s First Take. “We need to draft well, we need guys to come in and produce immediately, we don’t have time to wait around. I think we have the young guys that are capable of going into an offseason training the way that they need to take advantage of all the opportunities that they can, and come out and play well early.”
The lack of substance isn’t just a problem with Golden’s side of the ball. On offense, the main thing that needs to be fixed is the guard position. In particular, they’ll likely have to replace Alex Cappa, the expensive veteran who may be on his way out the door. And that’s just for starters. The Bengals finished 29th in the NFL in PFF’s Run-Blocking and Pass-Blocking Grades. Those are very un-flashy things, but if you look at the teams that made playoff runs this year, they’re incredibly important.
All this is to say that this will be the most telling offseason in Bengals franchise history. They have to juggle both signing their most explosive players, all while building a foundation that can properly support them. Just like Burrow alluded to on First Take; the flash can and will remain on the roster, and they have the cap space to do it. However, they had all that flash last season, and look where it got them. The front office’s ability to address their depth in the unglamorous areas will be the difference-maker in the Bengals returning to the playoffs and beyond.
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