Let the show begin…

A night of surprises…twists and turns?

No Bengals…but it’s always interesting.

Great job Mr. DJ! Super grouper Alice Cooper rocks.

Plus this Oscar-worthy piece of acting:

Interestingly, he is playing here in Columbus tonight. He hasn’t slowed down a bit—and his band is amazing.

33 minutes ago, texbengal said:

Great job Mr. DJ! Super grouper Alice Cooper rocks.

Plus this Oscar-worthy piece of acting:

Prefacing this by saying I am so happy we got Dex, but I will be very interested to see who ends up being available at pick 10

In case you were wondering:

NFL Draft salary by pick: How much every 2026 rookie will make from Rounds 1-7 | Sporting News

Is everyone going to watch tonight, and if so how much? Will you stay up to see if they trade back into late 1? Or just watch to see who would have been available at 10?

4 minutes ago, Jason said:

Is everyone going to watch tonight, and if so how much? Will you stay up to see if they trade back into late 1? Or just watch to see who would have been available at 10?

I'll watch the whole thing honestly, using it as a good excuse to sit on my couch and enjoy some beverages lol

18 minutes ago, Jason said:

Is everyone going to watch tonight, and if so how much? Will you stay up to see if they trade back into late 1? Or just watch to see who would have been available at 10?

Great question. Made a poll.

I’m happy about the Lawrence trade too, for many different reasons, bit still presents a couple of serious problems. The Bengals now have less draft capital value over than any other team over the next 3 days, even though they still have some serious roster holes.d UD

With the Lawrence contract now on the books, they are right up against the salary cap. So much so that they won’t be able to pay all of the upcoming draft picks and UDFAs without making some moves to free up some space. Finding a trade partner for Slaton could help. Nothing would help more than the front office restructuring the Burrow and/or Chase contracts.

2 hours ago, dex said:

I’m happy about the Lawrence trade too, for many different reasons, bit still presents a couple of serious problems. The Bengals now have less draft capital value over than any other team over the next 3 days, even though they still have some serious roster holes.d UD

With the Lawrence contract now on the books, they are right up against the salary cap. So much so that they won’t be able to pay all of the upcoming draft picks and UDFAs without making some moves to free up some space. Finding a trade partner for Slaton could help. Nothing would help more than the front office restructuring the Burrow and/or Chase contracts.

Even before the Cody Ford reduction they have $7M+ in cap space so they have enough to sign all draft picks + UDFAs. Dex's cap hit for 2026 is $15M or $10M more than whatever #10 what have brought us. Seems like an insane bargain for the immediate elite production.

I ate lunch with Alice Cooper once.. in the sense that he and his considerable entourage came in the bar where I was eating and were promptly escorted to a private area in back. He's a local. Big golf guy.

28 minutes ago, Dautcom08 said:

Even before the Cody Ford reduction they have $7M+ in cap space so they have enough to sign all draft picks + UDFAs. Dex's cap hit for 2026 is $15M or $10M more than whatever #10 what have brought us. Seems like an insane bargain for the immediate elite production.

I dunno who is right, who is wrong, but this is from Paul Dehner's article in The Athletic today:

What becomes of T.J. Slaton?

The Bengals find themselves up against the salary cap entering the draft. They rank 30th in remaining space for 2026 after putting the Lawrence contract on the books. They do not have enough money to sign their picks and undrafted free agents … for now.

The obvious next step after the news of the trade completed this weekend was that current 340-pound defensive tackle T.J. Slaton and the remainder of his contract would be offloaded.

Slaton would clear $6.6 million on the cap and give breathing room for the draft class and possibly a remaining free agent.

Now, would anybody in the league have interest in the 28-year-old Slaton at one year and $6.2 million? He can still stop the run, and according to the draft needs entered by my colleagues at The Athletic, 11 teams list defensive tackle or defensive line as a top need. This draft does not offer 11 impactful interior defenders or anywhere near that, a topic discussed repeatedly since Saturday night’s blockbuster.

Would a team that missed on landing a defensive tackle be willing to part with a fourth- or fifth-round pick? It could be a move that makes sense for both sides.

Lawrence talked about the excitement of playing with Slaton, but the number of veteran contracts at one position is unsustainable. Cincinnati holds $53.1 million in cap money at interior defensive line, third-most in the NFL. The Bengals also have 2024 third-round selection McKinnley Jackson still in the mix as a backup and could easily add to the position with a draft pick.

*(Dexter pun intended)

21 minutes ago, BlackJesus said:

*(Dexter pun intended)

For us tomorrow night

4 hours ago, esjbh2 said:

Great question. Made a poll.

The poll should really be “Which teams get selected to go to commercial while they are on the clock now that the Bengals are not in round one”?

46 minutes ago, dex said:

I dunno who is right, who is wrong, but this is from Paul Dehner's article in The Athletic today:

What becomes of T.J. Slaton?

The Bengals find themselves up against the salary cap entering the draft. They rank 30th in remaining space for 2026 after putting the Lawrence contract on the books. They do not have enough money to sign their picks and undrafted free agents … for now.

The obvious next step after the news of the trade completed this weekend was that current 340-pound defensive tackle T.J. Slaton and the remainder of his contract would be offloaded.

Slaton would clear $6.6 million on the cap and give breathing room for the draft class and possibly a remaining free agent.

Now, would anybody in the league have interest in the 28-year-old Slaton at one year and $6.2 million? He can still stop the run, and according to the draft needs entered by my colleagues at The Athletic, 11 teams list defensive tackle or defensive line as a top need. This draft does not offer 11 impactful interior defenders or anywhere near that, a topic discussed repeatedly since Saturday night’s blockbuster.

Would a team that missed on landing a defensive tackle be willing to part with a fourth- or fifth-round pick? It could be a move that makes sense for both sides.

Lawrence talked about the excitement of playing with Slaton, but the number of veteran contracts at one position is unsustainable. Cincinnati holds $53.1 million in cap money at interior defensive line, third-most in the NFL. The Bengals also have 2024 third-round selection McKinnley Jackson still in the mix as a backup and could easily add to the position with a draft pick.

A simple check of the cap situation on overthecap.com would have told him otherwise lol. The $7.5M does include the Ford pay-cut so I missed that one. Unless he used spotrac and overlooked the fact (knowing him the more likely scenario) that they don't have the updated Lawrence or Ford cap hits in there for 2026.

Also, Not saying Slaton shouldn't be restructured or released, but not having a 1st rounder makes $7.5M plenty for draft picks + UDFAs.

2 hours ago, T-Dub said:

He's a local. Big golf guy.

I love watching him in pro-ams. He is a seriously good golfer. Besides his faith he found years ago, golf literally saved his life. Nice interview here:

Just a little while longer…and our “good friend” will grace us

Be interesting to see where Bain/Downs/Styles go tonite. Wonder who if any would have made it to 10.

My CFT relatives on the North Coast seem really down on Styles for some reason. “Don’t need a linebacker” are the responses. Not real high on a receiver either. Actually they are hoping for a trade down—for both of their first rounders

Mery Draftmas!