12 hours ago, BlackJesus said:

Unforgivable if Duke fumbles this ...

I dont think this is a Duke issue at this point, Duke doen't do the contracts.

This will be on Pumpkin

1 hour ago, Jamie_B said:

I dont think this is a Duke issue at this point, Duke doen't do the contracts.

This will be on Pumpkin

And now that she knows he really wants to be back here she can low-ball him

15 hours ago, Inigo Montoya said:

Not sure if you’re implying that they should be using early draft picks on offense or just not expecting rookies to play right away on defense. I’m thinking it would be a combination of free agents and draft picks. Something like 7-8 new players who can all compete to start on defense.

7 or 8 new players to compete to start?

Do you actually believe they'll do that?

I don't..

2 hours ago, I_C_Deadpeople said:

And now that she knows he really wants to be back here she can low-ball him

Nope...he stated that it's thru his agent..

No low balls..

2 yr 10 mil...may do it.

He's worth it..

so where is yalls cutoff on what Risner wants per year where he is no longer worth it?

im probably at 10mil a year for 2 years 14 guaranteed.

8 hours ago, claptonrocks said:

7 or 8 new players to compete to start?

Do you actually believe they'll do that?

I don't..

Assuming Stone, CTB, Hendrickson, and probably Ossai depart, there should be a good bit of turnover on defense. We should be able to get 3 or more starters from free agency and maybe a couple from the draft. It's a good draft class for LBs so we could upgrade at least one of our rookie LBs that we had to reach for in 2025.

I've seen some articles saying the Bengals should go after old guys for leadership and knowledge reasons such as Bobby Wagner, Lavonte David, or DeMario Davis at LB, Calais Campbell or Khalil Mack at DE, etc. Of those guys Campbell is the only one I'd be interested in and he might want to finish in Arizona.

I still think we should go after a top tier safety to replace Stone and a top tier LB to replace either Knight or Carter as a starter. It would likely cost us 35 mil to get them but we can save that by letting Trey go instead of tagging or re-signing him. Best case would be tagging and trading but that's probably beyond the Bengals abilities.

1 hour ago, GoBengals said:

so where is yalls cutoff on what Risner wants per year where he is no longer worth it?

im probably at 10mil a year for 2 years 14 guaranteed.

That sounds about right but I wouldn't quibble if its an extra million, maybe two, a year, so my max would be 12 a year for 2 years

44 minutes ago, sparky151 said:

Assuming Stone, CTB, Hendrickson, and probably Ossai depart, there should be a good bit of turnover on defense. We should be able to get 3 or more starters from free agency and maybe a couple from the draft. It's a good draft class for LBs so we could upgrade at least one of our rookie LBs that we had to reach for in 2025.

I've seen some articles saying the Bengals should go after old guys for leadership and knowledge reasons such as Bobby Wagner, Lavonte David, or DeMario Davis at LB, Calais Campbell or Khalil Mack at DE, etc. Of those guys Campbell is the only one I'd be interested in and he might want to finish in Arizona.

I still think we should go after a top tier safety to replace Stone and a top tier LB to replace either Knight or Carter as a starter. It would likely cost us 35 mil to get them but we can save that by letting Trey go instead of tagging or re-signing him. Best case would be tagging and trading but that's probably beyond the Bengals abilities.

3 or more starters in FA ain't happening. They may sign 3 or more back-ups for cheap from other teams and try to make them starters, like Burks, but nah...

2 hours ago, GoBengals said:

so where is yalls cutoff on what Risner wants per year where he is no longer worth it?

im probably at 10mil a year for 2 years 14 guaranteed.

No cutoff for me…it’s not my money! 😄

10 hours ago, T-Dub said:

3 or more starters in FA ain't happening. They may sign 3 or more back-ups for cheap from other teams and try to make them starters, like Burks, but nah...

This was the 2021 free agency period. 3 starters in FA, a very high end rotation guy up front and call Apple what you will but he contributed. This was one year removed from signing Reader & Bell.

• OL Riley Reiff, DL Trey Hendrickson, CB Chidobe Awuzie, CB Mike Hilton, DL Larry Ogunjobi, CB Eli Apple, S Ricardo Allen, TE Thaddeus Moss, S Kavon Frazier, WR Trent Taylor, LB Joe Bachie

5 hours ago, Dautcom08 said:

This was the 2021 free agency period. 3 starters in FA, a very high end rotation guy up front and call Apple what you will but he contributed. This was one year removed from signing Reader & Bell.

• OL Riley Reiff, DL Trey Hendrickson, CB Chidobe Awuzie, CB Mike Hilton, DL Larry Ogunjobi, CB Eli Apple, S Ricardo Allen, TE Thaddeus Moss, S Kavon Frazier, WR Trent Taylor, LB Joe Bachie

So you expect them to do that again? Which of their recent draft picks do you think they're going to bench?

17 hours ago, Jamie_B said:

That sounds about right but I wouldn't quibble if its an extra million, maybe two, a year, so my max would be 12 a year for 2 years

The good news is our front orfice never quibbles over a million or two - they just get things done!

20 hours ago, Jamie_B said:

That sounds about right but I wouldn't quibble if its an extra million, maybe two, a year, so my max would be 12 a year for 2 years

Risner isn't going to get 10 mil per year, whether from the Bengals or anyone else. He may well get 5 mil but played for 1.3 last year and is due an increase over that.

20 hours ago, T-Dub said:

3 or more starters in FA ain't happening. They may sign 3 or more back-ups for cheap from other teams and try to make them starters, like Burks, but nah...

Do you think Ossai and Hendrickson will be back? If not we'll have new starters there, presumably Murphy and Stewart. We added Slaton last year and got new starters at both LB positions and NB. We could plausibly have 5 or 6 new starters on defense in 2026 with at least 3 coming from free agency. Just depends on where the front office wants to deploy the 80 mil in cap space.

1 hour ago, sparky151 said:

Risner isn't going to get 10 mil per year, whether from the Bengals or anyone else. He may well get 5 mil but played for 1.3 last year and is due an increase over that.

Do you think Ossai and Hendrickson will be back? If not we'll have new starters there, presumably Murphy and Stewart.

I suspect they tag Trey again. But if not which of those 2 do you think are ready to be named starters? I say neither.

1 hour ago, sparky151 said:

We added Slaton last year and

and he was pretty bad, when he was noticeable at all.

1 hour ago, sparky151 said:

got new starters at both LB positions

Rookies, that looked lost most of the time. Particularly after Wilson went from team captain to "asshole puppy-kicker" or whatever we were told there.. In the matter of a few weeks. IDK what happened, but if they misjudged him so badly in camp that he was thrown out for a 7th round draft pick.. that's not entirely his fault. WTF?

1 hour ago, sparky151 said:

We could plausibly have 5 or 6 new starters on defense in 2026 with at least 3 coming from free agency. Just depends on where the front office wants to deploy the 80 mil in cap space.

Could plausibly have a GM that's not hiding behind a curtain but yeah.. They have to spend most of it somewhere.. They could choose to accelerate one of the big 3 contracts, like take a big chunk out of that $60 million out in Tee's deal next year. Plenty of options.

If you think they're going to go big in FA? Sure it's possible, but...

44 minutes ago, T-Dub said:

I suspect they tag Trey again. But if not which of those 2 do you think are ready to be named starters? I say neither.

and he was pretty bad, when he was noticeable at all.

Rookies, that looked lost most of the time. Particularly after Wilson went from team captain to "asshole puppy-kicker" or whatever we were told there.. In the matter of a few weeks. IDK what happened, but if they misjudged him so badly in camp that he was thrown out for a 7th round draft pick.. that's not entirely his fault. WTF?

Could plausibly have a GM that's not hiding behind a curtain but yeah.. They have to spend most of it somewhere.. They could choose to accelerate one of the big 3 contracts, like take a big chunk out of that $60 million out in Tee's deal next year. Plenty of options.

If you think they're going to go big in FA? Sure it's possible, but...

You suspect they'll bring back Hendrickso?

I don't.

It got messy....respect both sides tumbled.

He got the raises and didn't produce

I suspect his agent is going to be surprised the offers hell get for a 31yr old player thats body is breaking down

I'm a bit puzzled why the team hasn't signed Risner yet.

I'd be alright with our starting 5 with him at RG

next year..

48 minutes ago, claptonrocks said:

You suspect they'll bring back Hendrickso?

I don't.

It got messy....respect both sides tumbled.

He got the raises and didn't produce

I suspect his agent is going to be surprised the offers hell get for a 31yr old player thats body is breaking down

My guess now is that they will tag Trey with the hope of trading him. They're going to have to go shopping for a defense and that might well mean no comp pick for Hendrickson if they just let him walk. Whereas if they tag him, they should be able to get compensation sooner and better than an end of round 3 pick in 2027. Once he's traded, the tag number is freed up for spending on other things such as extensions for Turner, Hill, and Brown.

1 hour ago, T-Dub said:

I suspect they tag Trey again. But if not which of those 2 do you think are ready to be named starters? I say neither.

and he was pretty bad, when he was noticeable at all.

Rookies, that looked lost most of the time. Particularly after Wilson went from team captain to "asshole puppy-kicker" or whatever we were told there.. In the matter of a few weeks. IDK what happened, but if they misjudged him so badly in camp that he was thrown out for a 7th round draft pick.. that's not entirely his fault. WTF?

Could plausibly have a GM that's not hiding behind a curtain but yeah.. They have to spend most of it somewhere.. They could choose to accelerate one of the big 3 contracts, like take a big chunk out of that $60 million out in Tee's deal next year. Plenty of options.

If you think they're going to go big in FA? Sure it's possible, but...

Along with Risner they need to re-sign Hill and Turner. Their costs are only goingto rise, especially DJ.

On 1/8/2026 at 7:40 PM, I_C_Deadpeople said:

Along with Risner they need to re-sign Hill and Turner. Their costs are only goingto rise, especially DJ.

bump

+1

like & subscribe.

Can they extend any of these guys whenever? I thought there was some kind of window for the non-drafted players...

& if so wtf are they waiting for?

They're waiting for the market to come to them. We'll go to war with what we have.

Bengals are slow to make decisions and slow to strike when opportunity presents itself. The only time I can think of them acting quickly was when OBj said he wanted to be a Bengal.

With their terribly inefficient contract structures, they will underwhelm again in free agency even though they could massively upgrade the team. But winning is definitely not a top consideration for the Bengals. The least accomplished HC in the division is back while the other 3 coaches are gone despite winning Super Bowls or coach of the year.

They can do this whenever they want, but its pretty rare that they wont wait till closer to when FA opens

They can't do it whenever they want. If they don't get it done before the combine, Risner will probably test the open market and cost more than they want to pay. The league is full of guards getting 15+ mil and Risner played as well as some of them. He's older and doesn't have a history of elite play or making a lot of money. So they should resign themselves to paying him 5 or 6 per year on a 3 year deal and get it done soon. But they probably won't because that's how they roll.

On 1/15/2026 at 7:13 PM, sparky151 said:

They can't do it whenever they want. If they don't get it done before the combine, Risner will probably test the open market and cost more than they want to pay. The league is full of guards getting 15+ mil and Risner played as well as some of them. He's older and doesn't have a history of elite play or making a lot of money. So they should resign themselves to paying him 5 or 6 per year on a 3 year deal and get it done soon. But they probably won't because that's how they roll.

Risner interviewed with Hoard at locker clean out..

AGAIN mentioned getting paid, and he owes it to himself and his family to maximize his career earnings.. im starting to get the feeling dude wants $15mil/year and probably 3-4 years..

dude doent speak without talking about getting paid.. he has been coached well to dress it up with the happy fan friendly speak, of wanting to be here loves the city blah blah..

there is absolutely NO CHANCE IN HELL this dude is signing for 5-6 a year... if thats all he wantsed he would be signed already..

hasnt played a full season since 2020.

was the guy who missed the block that got burrow hurt (not a knock from me, just stating, guys get hurt, he could have held the block for 7 seconds THEN it happened so just saying)

he whiffed the block on the blocked kick in the last game i think it was..

i cant decide if i think he is worth risking $15mil a year on.... and im fairly certain some dumbass team is willing to pay it... if he would take 1 year guaranteed at $15 id do it.. 2/$30m 15 guaranteed id do... i dont think he does he will want at least 20 guaranteed

3 minutes ago, GoBengals said:

Risner interviewed with Hoard at locker clean out..

AGAIN mentioned getting paid, and he owes it to himself and his family to maximize his career earnings.. im starting to get the feeling dude wants $15mil/year and probably 3-4 years..

dude doent speak without talking about getting paid.. he has been coached well to dress it up with the happy fan friendly speak, of wanting to be here loves the city blah blah..

there is absolutely NO CHANCE IN HELL this dude is signing for 5-6 a year... if thats all he wantsed he would be signed already..

hasnt played a full season since 2020.

was the guy who missed the block that got burrow hurt (not a knock from me, just stating, guys get hurt, he could have held the block for 7 seconds THEN it happened so just saying)

he whiffed the block on the blocked kick in the last game i think it was..

i cant decide if i think he is worth risking $15mil a year on.... and im fairly certain some dumbass team is willing to pay it... if he would take 1 year guaranteed at $15 id do it.. 2/$30m 15 guaranteed id do... i dont think he does he will want at least 20 guaranteed

That's about double the average starting guard salary from this season, per Spotrac

I would definitely not consider him twice as good as the average starting NFL guard. However, the team basically dug themselves into a hole by sticking with Volson well beyond the point it seemed evident to everyone else that he was incapable. Cappa's decline then left them with the prospect of starting a pair of mid-round rookie draft picks at the position. This is a mess of their own making & entirely predictable to everyone but their 25 year veteran general manager VP of agreeing with player personnel. "Wrong at the decision point" or whatever-the-fuck equivocating.

So.. While not thrilled with the transparent, kinda sleazy negotiating tactics from Risner.. How much faith do we have in Duke & "The Family" replacing him with a cheaper option? And why should we even care how much he might cost them, given the amount of cap space they're sitting on? Are we to believe they'd invest that money wisely elsewhere? Or would they happily roll over $15M into next year, and the year after that, and... History would seem to indicate the latter.

My conclusion being that while Risner may be kind of a dick about it, my sympathy for the team is zero. Front load his contract and draft a replacement, if Rivers isn't capable, so they're not in the same situation overpaying him in '27. Not buying the poor-mouthing shit in the meantime. Draft better next time & don't keep running bums out there to stink up the field because they don't want to admit the FO is basically inept. Risner was brought in at the 11th hour because of their fuck-ups. Fucking up has a price, whether that's overpaying a very average aging player, or eating 60+ sacks on the season. I think they're more comfortable with the solution that prioritize finances over football.

1 hour ago, T-Dub said:

That's about double the average starting guard salary from this season, per Spotrac

I would definitely not consider him twice as good as the average starting NFL guard. However, the team basically dug themselves into a hole by sticking with Volson well beyond the point it seemed evident to everyone else that he was incapable. Cappa's decline then left them with the prospect of starting a pair of mid-round rookie draft picks at the position. This is a mess of their own making & entirely predictable to everyone but their 25 year veteran general manager VP of agreeing with player personnel. "Wrong at the decision point" or whatever-the-fuck equivocating.

So.. While not thrilled with the transparent, kinda sleazy negotiating tactics from Risner.. How much faith do we have in Duke & "The Family" replacing him with a cheaper option? And why should we even care how much he might cost them, given the amount of cap space they're sitting on? Are we to believe they'd invest that money wisely elsewhere? Or would they happily roll over $15M into next year, and the year after that, and... History would seem to indicate the latter.

My conclusion being that while Risner may be kind of a dick about it, my sympathy for the team is zero. Front load his contract and draft a replacement, if Rivers isn't capable, so they're not in the same situation overpaying him in '27. Not buying the poor-mouthing shit in the meantime. Draft better next time & don't keep running bums out there to stink up the field because they don't want to admit the FO is basically inept. Risner was brought in at the 11th hour because of their fuck-ups. Fucking up has a price, whether that's overpaying a very average aging player, or eating 60+ sacks on the season. I think they're more comfortable with the solution that prioritize finances over football.

seriously man, there arent enough good guards for each team to even have one single "good" graded starting guard... so can we cut the shit with the bengals being some slack jawed franchise for not having a pile of them?

there were 27 guards rated 66.0 pass block grade or better...thats average.

the bengals had TWO OF THEM..

they drafted one, they signed on in free agency, they literally did it right twice in every facet that they can do it...

can you for even a moment step into fucking reality of offensive linemen int he national football league... there arent enough good ones, period, no one is killing it drafting linemen, no one is killing it signing FA linemen.... its the nature of the beast. this is why guys are getting 25 sacks in a season.

whats the point in completely ignoring the state of pass blocking in the NFL? why do you think GM's keep taking shots at mobile QB's who fucking suck in the draft? they ARENT going to have time, so if they can move around maybe they can make a play,

there are two first round tackles from the 2020 draft(since i stil have it up) who are out of the NFL completely. 6 were taken, 1/3rd of them, first rounders, are not playing football even anywhere. 1 was never the primary starter, 1 of the 6 started for 5 years. 1.....

are you assuming im making up this information? its on pro football reference. OT has twice as many out of the league first round picks as any other position in that draft.. and one WR is just in prison for killing people in a car wreck..

one of the Tackles from that draft who are still in the league got moved to guard, and he was a 43 pass block grade at guard.

first round picks.

#1 - Thomas great Tackle started all years

#2 - Out of the nfl

#3 - Moved to guard, on his 4th team in 5 years, and sucked ass at guard too

#4 - 5 year starter, wirfs, great player

#5 - Played 6 games this season, only played 3 seasons, injured the other 3,

#6 - out of the nfl

everyone has oline problems, everyone has trash draft picks, everyone has dud FA signings, everyone is pining to get a set of guys..