Stripes

Works for me. Without Flacco they would have needed to draft a QB at some point. They still might for a longer-term backup to groom, but now it's not an emergency. Edit: Nevermind; I already forgot about Josh Johnson. Good then.

Caleb Downs is my favorite prospect in the draft. Mock nerds are, more and more, allowing him to fall into the Bengals' laps. I know how this goes. They're right. He'll be available. And they'll draft Johnny Q. Penisface instead.

Don’t get hurt. Don’t get hurt. Don’t get hurt.

Wow. I completely forgot about CTB. DJ and Dax really buried him.

Malpractice across the board. Ignoring linebacker is a war crime. Structuring every contract to maximize the year 1 cap hit is lazy and deceptive. Never considering a restructure for Burrow is negligent. They’ve “gotten better”. Maybe. They’ve also fallen well short of going all in for a championship. They’ll never learn.

What a bizarre career. Josh Johnson: 2-9 as a starter (2-5 if you remove his rookie season) 58.7% completion 6.5 yards per attempt 16 total TDs (14 passing, 2 rushing) 18 INTs 71.1 passer rating I don't know why every team in the league keeps signing this guy (well, I do -- Army and COB already covered that). I expect the Bengals to draft a QB at some point, and now I hope it happens before the 5th round. Backup QB is a big need unless they bring Flacco back.

I was born to Kevin Kaesviharn. I cut my teeth on Ifeanyi Ohalete. Shawn Williams was my puberty. I am forged in the fires of bad safeties.

He just needs to tape the pen to his shoulder and dive in the general direction of the contract. Though he'd probably find a way to take a bad angle to a stationary object.

I find myself thinking about various draft possibilities. At #10, I think there's a very real possibility that Reese, Styles, Bain, and Downs are all off the board. They're then stuck reaching for someone that has no business going that high or taking some other position (maybe a corner) for "BPA". It's a less exciting prospect than I'd like from a selection in the first third of the round. It motivates me more than usual to trade the pick for an impact player. Of course, that's me. The Bengals would never.

Polymarket’s betting odds for Maxx Crosby are now putting the Bengals at 2nd place (distant, behind staying with the Raiders). Amusing. If that was ever to be taken seriously, I think the Allen signing tanks it.

Allen was an excellent interior pass rusher at his best, but he hasn't been at his best for 2-3 years. Hope he helps.

Good extension. The offensive line was finally competent last season, so keep it together.

Thanks for those probably wrong and completely stupid thoughts. I hope someone reads this without fully finishing your post for the necessary context. I agree, by the way — the Bengals will play their two 2025 picks and let it ride. I hate that strategy quite a bit, but it’s what they will do.

If the Bengals pulled a stunt like that, they'd have their entire draft revoked and Mike Brown would be sent to Vegas to wash dishes for a year.

Logan Hall is a Texan. He was the last standing FA I had strong interest in.

Hendrickson + 14th pick would probably be better for them than Crosby. Hope not.

I am now seeing a flood suggesting the Ravens backed out of the Maxx Crosby deal.

Ellis and Chenal are gone. Bengals are screwed at LB if one doesn’t fall to 10.

I keep seeing that the Bengals are going after TE David Njoku. Who knows what’s true on the cesspool that is X/Twitter. That would strike me as a strange move.

With Lloyd gone, Hall is probably my most-preferred FA remaining. The linebacker upgrade may be there in the draft between Reese and Styles.

Major "insiders" were reporting the same thing. Carolina must have made a big final push or Lloyd was using the other two for leverage.

Disregard the injuries; I misread his PFR page. He just hasn't been a starter as much.

Mafe's peak sack season is 9. He's been hampered by some injuries. PFF rated him about 70 last season (for whatever that's worth). He should be solid in the rotation. He should be 0% relevant to draft decisions.

Good. I fully expected to drop in, see nothing, and flip off my computer monitor. I'd still take Downs at 10, but I doubt the Bengals will.