3 hours ago, texbengal said:

It doesn’t feel like Matt Lee is a guy you can count on to earn a spot on the roster in camp

Just saying out loud, what I am sure many are thinking.

Lee should not be counted on at all - 7th round pick who is often injured. Bring in better players and then it is up to him to make it or be cut. No biggie.

1 hour ago, I_C_Deadpeople said:

Lee should not be counted on at all - 7th round pick who is often injured. Bring in better players and then it is up to him to make it or be cut. No biggie.

Been saying that about Lee for quite awhile.

If the draft a good Center who slips as high as round 3 I would

not be unhappy.

1 hour ago, I_C_Deadpeople said:

Lee should not be counted on at all - 7th round pick who is often injured. Bring in better players and then it is up to him to make it or be cut. No biggie.

Counting on marginal injury-prone players is kind of their thing, though

3 hours ago, T-Dub said:

Counting on marginal injury-prone players is kind of their thing, though

Sad but true. He has to be good because we thought he was

23 minutes ago, I_C_Deadpeople said:

Sad but true. He has to be good because we thought he was

The Family sign the checks & they want to play at being NFL execs so they surround themselves with yes-men. They may have different titles and various other responsibilities, but job #1 is to insulate the owners from taking any responsibility for their ineptitude. Besides, they lost a Super Bowl a few years ago which validates every decision before or since. Idiot fans don't recognize their genius. Tremendous minds. It's become a stale joke, just like their odds of another SB appearance in this decade despite having an MVP offense. They can't get out of their own way.

Be nice to see them do something with some urgency in FA for a change.

Oh, let's not have unrealistic expectations. The highly intricate extension negotiations with Chase Brown, Dax Hill, and DJ Turner will naturally preclude signing any outside free agents until they are done in early April.

Don’t know about that but, Jalen Davis sure deserves an opportunity, IMO.

He played well once given the opportunity.

33 minutes ago, Griever said:

Not sure I get that from reading her post, and even then, this is lying season. Not that it'd surprise me if Risner was told that from the Bengals.

I am sure at his age, he's looking for long-term security and he really hasn't gotten that to this point. I mean, he didn't even have a deal with any team until late in the pre-season, and who knows if that would have happened if Lucas Patrick hadn't gotten hurt.

Bottom line, he played well overall, and he deserves to get a solid offer. Hopefully it's in Cincinnati, since they don't have a great alternative at this point. But since when has that mattered with this franchise?

33 minutes ago, Griever said:

Seems like GameOn513 is reading a lot into that post, I did not get anything from it other than yes he technically is a FA. I would not be entirely surprised if they let him test it so they can get a number on what he is offered then come back and get it done.

Seems like the Bengals aren't very good at knowing what market value for their guys is otherwise they would just get it done, either that or Risner's agent thinks he can get more than what the Bengals are offering, which is very very likely, which just circles back to the fact the Bengals aren't very good at knowing market value for their free agents.

1 minute ago, texbengal said:

Not sure I get that from reading her post, and even then, this is lying season. Not that it'd surprise me if Risner was told that from the Bengals.

I am sure at his age, he's looking for long-term security and he really hasn't gotten that to this point. I mean, he didn't even have a deal with any team until late in the pre-season, and who knows if that would have happened if Lucas Patrick hadn't gotten hurt.

Bottom line, he played well overall, and he deserves to get a solid offer. Hopefully it's in Cincinnati, since they don't have a great alternative at this point. But since when has that mattered with this franchise?

I think the Bengals think their alternative is 5th round pick Jalen Rivers.

Just now, Jamie_B said:

I think the Bengals think their alternative is 5th round pick Jalen Rivers.

I am sure - and long term, maybe that's the answer. But IMO Risner was the better player this past year. Which may be the rub... Risner wants a longer deal and the Bengals, if they do want Risner, it's only for a year or two.

8 minutes ago, texbengal said:

I am sure - and long term, maybe that's the answer. But IMO Risner was the better player this past year. Which may be the rub... Risner wants a longer deal and the Bengals, if they do want Risner, it's only for a year or two.

It's Henrickson all over again they will make an offer that might even be fair but it wont be guaranteed past the first year. 30 year old guys don't get that from us.

I honestly wish they would just do 2 year guarantees for older guys, one extra year is not going to weigh down your cap numbers that much.

4 hours ago, texbengal said:

I am sure - and long term, maybe that's the answer. But IMO Risner was the better player this past year. Which may be the rub... Risner wants a longer deal and the Bengals, if they do want Risner, it's only for a year or two.

Risner was better than Rivers by a mile. He stabilized the line and helped Mims considerably. Bengals shouldn't be afraid to pay him more than he's ever made before and give him a multi-year deal. If Rivers improves over the course of his rookie deal, then re-evaluate. But choosing the lesser player in front of Burrow is foolish.

4 hours ago, Jamie_B said:

I think the Bengals think their alternative is 5th round pick Jalen Rivers.

Geez, I hope the Bengals don't consider a 5th round pick such an investment that they owe it to Rivers to see what he can become and if it's not a top player, the collateral consequences, such as injury to Burrow are just "bad luck".

2 minutes ago, sparky151 said:

Geez, I hope the Bengals don't consider a 5th round pick such an investment that they owe it to Rivers to see what he can become and if it's not a top player, the collateral consequences, such as injury to Burrow are just "bad luck".

You know how this works, you know they do.

4 hours ago, Jamie_B said:

Seems like GameOn513 is reading a lot into that post, I did not get anything from it other than yes he technically is a FA. I would not be entirely surprised if they let him test it so they can get a number on what he is offered then come back and get it done.

Seems like the Bengals aren't very good at knowing what market value for their guys is otherwise they would just get it done, either that or Risner's agent thinks he can get more than what the Bengals are offering, which is very very likely, which just circles back to the fact the Bengals aren't very good at knowing market value for their free agents.

No,no. We always have all the information don’t ya know.

4 hours ago, texbengal said:

I am sure - and long term, maybe that's the answer. But IMO Risner was the better player this past year. Which may be the rub... Risner wants a longer deal and the Bengals, if they do want Risner, it's only for a year or two.

It would, unfortunately, be quite typical of the Bengals to mess this signing up when it should be cut and dried. Even with Risner we still have virtually zero depth on the OL and Rivers is simply still a projection.

Joe1 will ride in and save the day.

He always gets what he wants

14 hours ago, Le Tigre said:

Joe1 will ride in and save the day.

He always gets what he wants

So true. Ain't. that da troof.

Which is why I am thinking Joey Bosa will be in Bengal stripes next

season.

On 1/31/2026 at 7:50 AM, High School Harry said:

So true. Ain't. that da troof.

Which is why I am thinking Joey Bosa will be in Bengal stripes next

season.

That'd be something.

Unfortunately they already signed Tanner Hudson to an extension so they only have $1.37 and an Arby's coupon left in this year's FA budget

On 1/31/2026 at 9:50 AM, High School Harry said:

So true. Ain't. that da troof.

Which is why I am thinking Joey Bosa will be in Bengal stripes next

season.

Yeah..even if he's injured cause he's Joey Bosa...🤕

I wouldn't be surprised if the Bengals focus on older, cheaper veteran players they hope still have something left in the tank. Guys like Clowney or Fowler or Davis or Byard.

45 minutes ago, sparky151 said:

I wouldn't be surprised if the Bengals focus on older, cheaper veteran players they hope still have something left in the tank. Guys like Clowney or Fowler or Davis or Byard.

Agreed... DeMario Davis for sure. Any of those guys provide maturity and some degree of leadership - and actually they all showed they still have something in the tank last year. Clowney really surprised me... he played stout for Dallas. Fowler I'm kinda "meh" on, but he can give you some pass rush juice. Kevin Bayard just finds the ball... pretty uncanny that way.