Strictly Stripes: A Cincinnati Bengals podcast

The Bengals' solution to right tackle depth might not be very far. Dawand Jones excelled at that position with his long arms over in Columbus for the Ohio State Buckeyes. Although his trajectory might not be the highest compared to other big bodies in his class, he's still one of the top tackles available on most draft boards. Depending on what happens with Bengals tackle Jonah Williams, who has r...

Should the Bengals decide to pick a tight end later in the draft, they'll be loaded with options. Even if the Bengals can't land Michael Mayer or Dalton Kincaid, there are a breadth of options all the way through the seventh round of the draft. While they certainly won't wait until the end of the draft to land someone, they can take a gamble with players in the second and third rounds. Calling thi...

Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, move over. Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes are quickly rising up to fill the vacuum left behind by Manning and Brady. Although Burrow and Mahomes have met just four times in their respective careers, they've been nothing short of eventful matchups. The Bengals and Chiefs have met in back-to-back AFC Championships and all four of t...

The Brink's truck could be coming to Cincinnati in no time. Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and his agent are in negotiations for a new contract extension that could possibly reset the market. Depending on how swiftly the negotiations are done, Burrow could be the league's highest paid player, ahead of even reigning MVP Patrick Mahomes and Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson. While Burrow certainly m...

Are Lou Anarumo's worst fears going to come true? At first glance, the Bengals' defensive depth chart isn't much different from last year's 2022 roster. Aside from losing their starting safeties, which was a "dark day" for Anarumo, the Bengals bring back all of their other defensive starters from last year not including current free agent Eli Apple. However, there were a lot of shortcomings and co...

The NFL season is still just under six months away, but there's never too early of a time to look at the Bengals' depth chart. Cincinnati is posed to bring back many of the same playmakers from 2022 with some very new faces sprinkled in between. There's still much to be settled in next month's NFL Draft as well. However, regardless of what the draft holds for the Bengals, are they in good enough s...

Is there a changing of the guard in the AFC North? Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson wants out of Baltimore after he's been unable to land a deal with the team. Other teams are yet to entertain any offers but if they do, Jackson could be on his out of the division. With the Bengals trying to follow up on their back-to-back division titles, how much of an advantage does this give them? Is there even...

Draft season is upon us. With almost exact a month to go before the NFL Draft, the Bengals will now focus on getting their draft boards together and planning for the future in Cincinnati. The way the Bengals navigated this free agency is a sign that their future will be built in contrast to how things have been done in the last few years of the Joe Burrow era. Cincinnati's moves, like Germaine Pra...

The competitiveness of the AFC North lives even in the offseason. When the Ravens, Bengals, Steelers and Browns aren't busy battling each other in the regular season for a divisional title, they're busy working to outbuild one another. All four teams have been making moves to fight for the right to win the AFC North next season. The Bengals, who are seeing their third consecutive divisional title...

Will the Bengals trade Jonah Williams? According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, there is interest across the league for a player like Williams. Historically, the Bengals trading away players is rare, especially of Williams' caliber. But will the Bengals take a similar course of action like they did back in 2021 when they traded away center Billy Price to the Giants for B.J. Hill? Or will they even...

A lot has changed over the last week for the Cincinnati Bengals. After signing Orlando Brown and Nick Scott, on top of re-signing other players in-house, the Bengals' latest positional needs have changed. While tackle is still a question mark following Jonah Williams' trade request, areas like linebacker and wide receiver are firmly set for 2023. Other departures like Samaje Perine's for example h...

Nick Scott is officially a Cincinnati Bengal. He was introduced on Monday after his signing was official. The Bengals will look to turn to him in the secondary as he'll help fill the void left by Jessie Bates III and Vonn Bell who both left in free agency. He'll join forces with Dax Hill who will get his first true taste as a safety in the NFL. Much like the Bengals did with Bell, the Bengals wait...

The a few more costs to the bill were added after the Cincinnati Bengals signed Orlando Brown Jr. Left tackle Jonah Williams has requested a trade following reports that indicated the Bengals wanted to move him to right tackle in favor of having Brown Jr. at left tackle. Williams has one year left on his current deal worth $12.6 million but there's no guarantee he'll be a Bengal for that final yea...

The Cincinnati Bengals are sailing in the right direction. After inking two more linemen in free agency, particularly Orlando Brown Jr., the Bengals have set themselves up for the rest of free agency and the draft. Now that the offensive line is mostly settled, they can use their draft capital as flexibly as they want moving forward throughout the offseason. The Bengals still need to address their...

The Cincinnati Bengals made a long-awaited splash in free agency. After being relatively hum for most of the free agency period, the Bengals open the new league year with a bang. They add a strong piece to the offensive line by adding former Chiefs tackle Orlando Brown Jr. on a massive $64 million deal on Wednesday night. The addition of Brown Jr. completes the puzzle of a jumbled offensive line t...

The Cincinnati Bengals’ running back room is looking a little thin. Samaje Perine, who was one of the team’s most valuable backups in 2022, is now headed out west to join the Denver Broncos. That leaves Joe Mixon and Chris Evans as the only Bengals’ running backs under contract. With Trayveon Williams set to hit free agency, running back is now a position of concern for the Bengals. With a bevy of...

Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo’s “dark day” is a reality. After losing both Jessie Bates and Vonn Bell in free agency, the Bengals will now have to plan for a world without them. Both players departed for the NFC South and the team only has Michael Thomas, Tycen Anderson and Dax Hill. On the upside, they retained linebacker Germaine Pratt whose departure almost seemed inevitable. Beyond...

How many free agents will the Bengals resign? Will there be any surprise departures? Will Jessie Bates or Germaine Pratt have a better career outside Cincinnati? What's one move the Bengals could make that will win over fans? That and more on today's podcast featuring Michael Niziolek and Andrew Gillis. Music: Starfields by Hallman Music Link: https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/nQ9ldbVF7D/ Learn...

Don't expect a big spending spree from the Bengals in free agency. Unlike last year's shopping spree, the Bengals will focus on building from within their core pieces and retaining some of those soon-to-be free agent pieces. But that doesn't mean there aren't solid fits on the market that could be matches made in heaven with the Bengals. Should the Bengals lose both Vonn Bell and Jessie Bates, the...

The focus for the Bengals now shifts to free agency. Joe Burrow's looming contract extension will play a large role in how free agency is shaped out for Cincinnati. While they'd certainly like to keep the biggest pending free agents from last year's AFC Championship game run, they've acknowledged that's likely not going to happen. However, there's a lot of key pieces the Bengals can and should kee...

Another NFL Scouting Combine is in the books for the Cincinnati Bengals. The focus for the franchise this offseason will be retaining key free agents and hitting the NFL Draft boards hard next month. Aside from locking down Joe Burrow and possibly Tee Higgins, all other decisions for the Bengals will be focused on getting over the hump in the here and now to win an elusive Super Bowl. Now that's t...

The Cincinnati Bengals have a plethora of options with the 28th overall pick. Having such a late pick gives them the ability to be flexible in the first round. Where the Bengals go with that pick will become clearer once the dust settles on free agency later this month. There's one hometown kid who has his eyes on the Bengals though. Notre Dame tight end Michael Mayer, who grew up just outside of...

The 2023 NFL Draft class has one of the deepest cornerback classes in recent memory. Experts like Daniel Jeremiah have acknowledged this and there's no shortage of talented, feisty pass defenders to watch at this week's NFL Combine. That's a position that could become an area of need this offseason if the Bengals not only lose Eli Apple and Tre Flowers in free agency, but if they decide not to pur...

Consistency is one trait that binds the Bengals' defensive line and offensive line together. But, maybe not for the right reasons. The Bengals pass rush struggled to utilize Trey Hendrickson and Sam Hubbard as effectively as possible in 2022. On the flip side, run blocking wasn't the strongest hallmark of the Bengals' offensive last year either. Both are areas the Bengals have acknowledged they wa...

As expected, Bengals QB Joe Burrow was front and center at the NFL Combine. Well, not literally. Burrow wasn't physically present but his name came up frequently as Bengals Director of Player Personnel Duke Tobin and Bengals head coach Zac Taylor talked about what a future extension looks like for Burrow. Tobin didn't get into specifics but assured that locking down Burrow long-term is a priority...