NFL Power Bengals Scouting Combine: A Different Offseason “Our goal will be to keep our team together.”
INDIANAPOLIS _ Director of player personnel Duke Tobin and head coach Zac Taylor, two of the Bengals’ most important decision-makers, spoke to the media for the first time this offseason on Tuesday at the NFL scouting combine. They discussed the different world that awaits a team that has emerged as a major player over the previous two seasons.
During the three years prior to last Opening Day, the Bengals had signed ten free agents; during that time, their quarterback had gone from being the first overall pick to the Pro Bowl. An offseason of more maintenance than additions has begun after the team won back-to-back AFC North crowns and made it to two consecutive conference final games.
“Building rosters follows a cycle. We’re about to enter a phase of roster development where our attention will be directed more inward than outward,” Tobin stated. “It doesn’t mean we won’t search outside for opportunities, but we also won’t strive to assemble our club from outside unrestricted free agents.” We intend to stick with the players who have shown they belong and are capable of winning for the Cincinnati Bengals in order to preserve our team. Even when we consider free agency constantly, there may be a slight shift in perspective.”
With four starters from the NFL’s sixth-best scoring defense heading toward free agency and the explosive duo of quarterback Joe Burrow and wide receiver Tee Higgins now eligible for contract extensions, the team’s approach is to stick with the group that has made head coach Adam Taylor the league’s most successful active postseason head coach with at least seven play-off appearances.
“We just need to maneuver around that large nucleus of what our club has been about,” said Taylor, whose.714 post-season winning percentage is better than Bill Belichick’s.705. “We’ll sort through how all that works out. We have a lot of great players, young and old, who deserve money.”
Whatever happens, they believe they are good enough for the squad that, only thirty short days ago, lost out on a chance to play in the Super Bowl again in Kansas City at the final minute.
We have the talent to take home the championship. The break must occur at the appropriate time. And this year, not against Kansas City, we didn’t receive those. However, we are certain that we can return,” Tobin remarked. Because we were a bit more mature in our procedures and some of our players had a little more experience in big game circumstances, we thought that this squad really came together and was perhaps a touch better overall than the team from the previous season. Additionally, people with big game experience will be returning the next year. We therefore have quite high hopes.”
As are the hopes for Burrow, possibly the most well-liked Bengal of all time, to have his contract extended. However, Tobin and Taylor spoke in generalities rather than details on the day that he paraphrased Kevin Malone from The Office as saying, “I make no projections.”
Tobin remarked, “We’re all sitting here, what if-ing.”
Aside from dispelling the hallucinogenic rumors about the Higgins swap, which Taylor claims he laughed off.
“Anytime you see the stories going around, they’re untrue,” Taylor remarked in reference to his two-time 1,000-yard wide receiver. “You don’t really want to give things up because it’s nice to have weapons out there and I get to call the plays.”
On paper, the plan is to sell Higgins for a huge amount of money since wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, a two-time Pro Bowler, may receive enormous compensation next season. But that’s spit-balling to the Bengals, who prefer having two No. 1s.
“Tee is a superb football athlete. I see him continuing to be involved in our work for a very long time. That’s the intention. Tobin stated, “We want our lads to show that they can significantly contribute to our victory, especially our ones who are new. “I don’t work for teams to improve their performance. Making the Cincinnati Bengals better is what I do for a living. I have no thought of that. Go find your own receiver; they want yours. Tee Higgins is a good asset for the Cincinnati Bengals, in my opinion. Thus, the current trading situation is a little absurd.”
The fact that they would like to complete Burrow’s horrific deal “sooner rather than later” is not absurd. In an attempt to secure an extension that would allow them to retain enough of the core to become the first AFC North team to win three consecutive division titles, they also claim to know roughly how it will look while hinting that they could finish other tasks first.
Tobin stated, “We’re not going to rush the process,” and he thinks Burrow sees the full business model in addition to the entire field.
“I believe Joe comprehends more than the majority of individuals. That’s the reason he’s such a fantastic player,” Tobin stated. Joe has a broad perspective. Not just when he gets the shot from the center, but also on his way to practice and through the locker room. Exercise during the off-season. Joe has a broad perspective. That is his greatest quality.
We follow our quarterback wherever he goes. Our responsibility is to enable him to succeed. He can bring us there; he has demonstrated that. He’s demonstrated that he’s a quarterback deserving of championships. But as you can see, it’s not a one-man show, so we need to be prepared to surround him with some players who can help him succeed. Joe values this, therefore we’ll do our best to see it through. The first- and second-year (salary) cap figures are something we can manage, but ultimately the money has to be counted. In order to avoid problems in the future years, we also want to be cautious with how we allocate those funds. We know roughly when it will be finished, but I just cannot tell when it will be finished.”
Other subjects On Tuesday, Tobin and Taylor talked about:
When pressed about the possibility of maintaining both Higgins and Chase, Tobin stated they would try and that they had not given it any further thought.
Tobin stated, “We’ll talk to him, maybe as the offseason progresses, to see if there’s something we can work out or not, he’s qualified for it.” It’s not required. It is something that is achievable; we’ll see. I don’t think I overthink this; it seems like you have given it much more thought than I have. I want to keep him with the Cincinnati Bengals because he’s a fantastic player.”
About integrating running back Joe Mixon’s large contract within a receiver and quarterback salary structure that is much larger.
Tobin/Malone stated, “I can’t forecast what additional transactions will get done or how much money we’ll need.” “Someone on our team may be eligible for an extension, and there may be an opportunity to renegotiate with others. Once more, there are a lot of moving parts in this. I believe the generalization I can make is that you should try your hardest to retain a productive player on your football team.”
Regarding the necessity of holding onto one of Vonn Bell and Jessie Bates III, the two free-agent safeties.
Tobin declared, “We aren’t going to freeze out alternatives with any of them.” It will depend on what the market is like for those guys and what other deals we can work out during the offseason. Is there room for everyone at the highest value they desire? No. We’ll see whether some guys wish to return since they don’t see its value. You simply cannot foresee such at this time.”
Taylor stated there’s an open battle for punter and he didn’t rule out drafting one, despite punter Drue Chrisman being under tremendous criticism after the Bengals allowed the Chiefs to return a punt 29 yards in the final minute with 30 seconds remaining in the AFC title game.
“I believe that competition is beneficial. Regarding the draft, Taylor remarked, “I think that portion is hard to foresee.” “We simply watch the draft to see where it goes and where the value is.”
