Locked On Bengals - Daily Podcast On The Cincinnati Bengals - Bengals DECLINE Myles Murphy's Fifth-Year Option: Was It the Right Decision?

Starting point is 00:00:00 The Bengals made a controversial decision on Miles Murphy's fifth year option. Did they get it right? Let's break it down. You are Locked on Bengals, your daily Cincinnati Bengals podcast. Part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. What up Bengals fans and welcome to another episode of the Lockdown Bengals podcast. We're your host. He's James Rapine.

Starting point is 00:00:31 I'm Jake Lisco. And today we break down everything that went into the Bengals making a decision to decline Miles Murphy's fifth-year option. Does it have something to do with the Bengals looking forward and being worried about their cap situation in 2027 and beyond in the wake of the Dexter Lawrence trade and signing all these veteran free agents that they sign to a relatively big contracts, Boy, Maffei, Brian Cook,

Starting point is 00:00:56 in free agency, even Jonathan Allen. And so we'll get to the financial implications because this is at least somewhat a financial decision for the Bengals with Miles Murphy. And we'll talk about all of the... the ins and outs in this episode brought to you by Fandul where new customers can bet just $5 and get $150 in bonus bets if your first bet wins. Head to fandle.com to get started.

Starting point is 00:01:19 And James, the news last week was that the Bengals have decided to not exercise the fifth year option for Miles Murphy. The deadline was Friday and the news was Thursday. And this was a decision that we had been looking forward to seeing which way this would break. And Duke Tobin talked about it after the deadline. draft and the Bengals opting to decline the option for Murphy. Yeah, it's a decision that is surprising in this sense for sure. He joined Cedric Abuehi, Billy Price, and John Ross.

Starting point is 00:01:52 And when you think of Miles Murphy, I get it, eight and a half sacks in his career. I don't think of those other guys. I think he's in a different group there. And for the Bengals to do this, one, there's the financial side, 14.4,66. million dollars nearly 15 million dollars of a guaranteed fifth year option for murphy that certainly came into play it's worth noting though he had a career high five and a half sacks he came on at the end of last year it felt like he was one of those ascending players and i thought jake it was similar to dachs in year three and dach suffered the acl but before that was ascending looked really comfortable at corner

Starting point is 00:02:31 was making plays and and doing what he was asked to do at corner and then he tears his ACL well the bengals his fifth year option. And so initially, I thought the $14.4 million $5th year option when we talked about it a few months ago for Miles that it was a lot. I also think that the Bengals history would say that they would pick it up. They clearly believe in him and that he's an ascending player. Duke Tobin praised him last Monday when asked about that, he also made it clear that any Miles Murphy decision would be based on finances. It really came on. You know, he got a chance to really stay on the field and play. And that's

Starting point is 00:03:07 when players that are young like him grow. And I think he doubled his playtime last year from the previous year. And really great to see him come on. And he's a 24-year-old guy that's just starting to scratch the surface. And I was pleased with his progression last year and how he took ownership of the starting role and how we grew throughout the season. And by the end of the year, he was a problem for teams. And he's a guy that we believe in. He's a guy that we believe in. going to be a big part of what Al and his staff does. You all made a decision on a fifth year option with that deadline coming up? Yeah, that's coming up this week and now that the draft's over, we'll look and see what

Starting point is 00:03:48 kind of costs we can layer in next year and what we can and can't do there. It'll be a financial decision primarily one way or the other, but he is a guy that we're counting on not only this year. We'd like a long-term relationship with him, but I don't know whether that comes together. Again, we've got really, we're at the top of the league in spending right now. And so we're going to have to make it work and we'll see what we do with that. But that'll be a decision we make as we dive into this week looking at next year. And we've got some cap ramifications there too with what we've done.

Starting point is 00:04:26 There's Duke Tobin claiming that the Bengals are at the top of the league in spending again. And every time he says that, it catches me because he's talking about, active cap spending and the Bengals are in fact at the top of the league in cap spending in 26. The Steelers are creeping up on them, however. The Steelers just $2 million behind now, actually a million and a half dollars behind at this point. The Bengals are still a top 10 cash spending team and that will end my tangent about Duke Tobin conflating cap spending and cash spending, which are very different things. But the point that he's trying to make there is that this is something that now they're looking into 2027 and considering how does

Starting point is 00:05:09 Miles Murphy fit in if that's a $14.5 million cap hit and cash spend for Murphy next year. It talks about wanting to keep him around, and that has led to speculation as to whether or not declining the fifth year option is a prelude to a potential extension for Miles Murphy this offseason. And we'll get into that conversation as well and why that looks a little bit suspect. But one thing that stood out as well when he was talking about what Murphy did on the field was he talked about getting the opportunity. And for the first time, Miles Murphy eclips playing 50% of the snaps for the Bengals on defense, actually reaching a 60% mark last year, which is up from 31% in 2024 and 28% as a rookie in 2023. And we saw that along with that, the productivity followed with the five and a half sacks, 10 quarterback hits and six tackles for loss last year.

Starting point is 00:06:00 And then I started thinking about, you know, who's that comparable to? And a couple things came up. One, when you look at money, the $14.5 million, puts him just ahead of David Bailey. This year's second round or second overall pick, he's making $13.6 million on his rookie contract. And two, you look at Boya Maffei. Boya Maffa's second year, he played 68% of Seattle's snaps on defense. He had nine sacks, so more than Murphy, and nine tackles for loss, so more than Murphy. But not too dissimilar from a lot.

Starting point is 00:06:30 a production perspective. And so when you're thinking about what Miles would make if he were on the open market right now, I think that it's probably between, you know, as of today, that $14 million to $20 million mark because guys get paid in free agency.

Starting point is 00:06:47 And I think that that's something that the Bengals probably are weighing here, right? Like the one year to have time to work on the extension versus Miles saying, you know, maybe I'm just going to bet on myself now that I don't have that fifth year option. that could have been the prelude to extension talks. Do you think that's where he'd be at? Like, Osai didn't get that. And Osai, back-to-back years, five sacks,

Starting point is 00:07:10 would have had more than that this past year. I think if they were playing for something, maybe he suits up down the stretch with that injury. 14 and a half sacks, if you look at it that way throughout his career, like, do you think that it's clear that Miles is getting more than Osai on the open market? Why? Because he's younger, I guess. I think draft pedigree is also a part of this.

Starting point is 00:07:31 He was a first round pick. He was seen as a consensus first round pick that year. He's got the size and athleticism combination. The age helps too. But I do think this is a huge season, obviously, for predicting what he's going to make on the open market. If he goes out there and has seven sacks and 14 tackles for a loss this year, that's going to help.

Starting point is 00:07:51 That's going to show that continued progression, the consistency that teams are probably looking for. And, well, I was like last year, I mean, it was honestly a pretty good deal for him, $7.5 million for the kind of production that you get for, you know, five sacks, 15 tackles for loss, two fumbles forced, and he essentially runs it back in the next year. Sorry, four tackles for loss, then nine tackles for loss. So Bengals, I think, got their money's worth on Osai. And now he's making 11 and a half. Yeah. Maybe that's three years, 34 and a half. Yeah. And that's what I'm curious about. Because I wonder if that's how. the Bengals view Miles as of now. Like, yeah, he's similar to us. I. We'll see if he can do it again, right? And I think there's risk in that. And the risk, you kind of painted it a bit. Like,

Starting point is 00:08:40 if he goes out there and performs the way he's capable of and show down the stretch of last season, if he does that for 17 games, and I think it's going to be hard for the Bengals to keep Miles Murphy and stripe. So let's continue the conversation there. Is it right or wrong? I think time will tell, but it's certainly risky. We'll continue the Miles Murphy conversation coming up next. Today's show is brought you by Indeed. Workplace chaos. Deadlines like fifth year options stacking up inbox overflowing.

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Starting point is 00:10:23 It's risky on whether or not you pick up the Miles Murphy option because if you pick it up, it's guaranteed. It's not like they can make the decision if he has two sacks this year and Miles Murphy's their fourth best edge that, oh, we went out of this fifth year option. And so I think that that part of it matters. I mentioned Osai because if they viewed him like Mafei or if they viewed him like a guy that's going to make that or that if they signed him to an extension, it would be in that neighborhood. I think they would have just picked up the fifth year option. They clearly didn't. So I wonder if they view him as an $11 million per year player, not a $14 million per year player.

Starting point is 00:11:02 And because of the cap stuff that we can get into concern, whether it's fair or not, that impacted it. But it is risky because if he goes out there and has nine sacks and 15 tackles for loss and is your every down, virtually in every down defensive end that's playing a ton and essentially gives you like prime Sam Hubbard, well, he's going to get paid a lot of money. And it's going to be more than that fifth year option on an average annual value. And so that's the give and take here when it comes to Miles Murphy. Yeah, I mean, the upside would be that they can manipulate the cap hit next year if they do end up approaching him and working on an extension after this season. But yeah, I think that the risk is essentially that he continues to develop and gets better as a pass rusher, has more production over the course of the year.

Starting point is 00:11:49 Because 60% of the staff is a good number for him. I don't know how much higher that goes. I'd say that the high end for him is probably around. 70% somewhere. That would be a lot of staffs to play for defensive lineman, even if you're an edge rusher. And some of those guys do play a lot. But the Bengals look prime to have a pretty good rotation at edge right now, assuming that Shamar Stewart is still in line for a big role in year two as a higher first round pick than Miles Murphy. And the cash is how is going to get into that rotation. And obviously they spent the money on Boye and Mafe. So projecting more sacks, more tackles for

Starting point is 00:12:26 loss for Miles unless he improves his on a rate basis and really forces his way onto the field it's kind of tough to do and I think that that is certainly a big part of it like you were kind of implying or or getting around to with the Osai comparison do they see Miles Murphy as they start do they project him as a starter into the future with Shamar Stewart on the team with boy amafi on the team with Cassius how having a role in the edge road now as their premium first pick, the second round pick this year, and a guy that they're expecting to add juice to the pass rush and a pretty unique body type among that room for Cincinnati right now.

Starting point is 00:13:09 So if they see them as a starter, 14 and a half million, like, yeah, that's a pretty good deal for a starting quality edge rusher in the NFL. I don't think they're regretting the fifth year option for Dax Hill right now. You got a starting level corner and we think a good starting level corner with some positional flexibility and matchup flexibility because of his athletic toolkit, around $12,000, $12.5 million. It's a pretty good deal for a pretty good corner, right, for one year. And they still have the option to talk to him about an extension leading into this year.

Starting point is 00:13:44 They get that extra time to evaluate it. So if you think that Miles is a starting level player and a starting level edge rusher, then the fifth year option is kind of a no-brainer. But as you're saying, like, do they see him as a starter? Do they see him for sure in that role where they've invested all of these resources in that position? Yeah. Yeah, it's a good question. And the other thing is, is how hard is it?

Starting point is 00:14:11 Let's say he does blow up. And blow up his relative. Like, I don't think he's going to go out there and have 17 sacks. So eight sacks, consistent production, looks like a starter, plays like a starter. want starter money, blows up in the Bengals face, I wonder if they're like, yeah, we can find the next miles. Like, I wonder if it's just sort of that way. And that's why I mentioned Osai, because I think they were like, yeah, we'd like to have

Starting point is 00:14:39 Joseph Osai. And that's why they paid him the one year. But this year, it kind of felt like the writing was on the wall. They were going to remake that room. They weren't going to bring him back. And I think, again, down the stretch, we kind of knew that. I wonder if there's, it just, it feels different. And I don't know if it's just about the cap lingering over their head.

Starting point is 00:15:01 And I do think that's a factor. Or if it's just how they view Miles Murphy. And it's like, yeah, we can find the next Tradesy guy that we need to teach some of this stuff to from a technique standpoint. Like maybe. Or it's like, hopefully this lights a fire under him. Or, and here's the other one that a lot of people have brought up, the contract. and getting a long-term extension and doing that. Do you buy that at all?

Starting point is 00:15:26 Like that this, by guaranteeing him $14.5 million next year, it would have made it harder, not easier, harder, to get a long-term extension in place because that's guaranteed money, given how the Bengal structure contracts. And they kind of viewed it like, we don't want to lock into that. It's not like they got a DAX extension done yet, right? So there's not a ton of precedent for them to do it that way

Starting point is 00:15:50 with some of these guys, especially going into year four, I wonder if that's at least part of why they were like, we don't want 15 million guaranteed to be baked into whatever extension talks we would have. And instead we do it this way, maybe we can get a deal done. That's certainly what some have tossed out there. Yeah, there are a couple of things I'm not buying. The first thing I'm not buying is that this is like a 5D chess motivational tactic by the Bengals to try to get Miles Murphy going this year.

Starting point is 00:16:20 I don't think that they would ever make a decision like this with that in mind. I mean, it could be a side effect. It could be like a little bonus kind of thing, you know, but I don't think that's the primary intention here too. I don't buy that this is a prelude to an extension. We've talked about it a little bit in this show. If you decline a fifth-year option for a guy, usually it's not because you're just real anxious to get a long-term deal done instead.

Starting point is 00:16:45 You can pick up that fifth-year option. You can still work on an extension right away. it doesn't stop you from working on an extension before he plays that fifth year. So for comparison, like they could have gotten a deal done with Dax last year and not had him playing this year on his fifth year option if they were so inclined. And that is something that happens. And it's not impossible. There are a few examples around the NFL of players who have not signed their fifth year option

Starting point is 00:17:10 or had their fifth year option declined and then did eventually sign an extension with that team, usually after their fourth year, I think in those examples. they went out and had a really good fourth year and then made themselves indispensable to the team. And then the team prioritized them a little bit differently. But yeah, declining a fifth year option is not a move that teams make because they want to extend somebody. 99% of the time. And I think that's the case for the Bengals here. Maybe not.

Starting point is 00:17:37 Maybe the Bengals are going to do another thing that shocks us this offseason James. But my initial reaction to that is that, no, I don't think that that is a prelude to them working on an extension. this off season with Miles Murphy and they just didn't want to be locked into the fifth year option. Yeah, I get that. In the logic in my head, a lot, like,

Starting point is 00:17:58 that makes sense to me, that that wasn't the method, their strategy. I also have another hypothetical scenario when it comes to this that maybe Duke and Katie. I mean, we just heard from Duke say how awesome Miles is and all those things.

Starting point is 00:18:14 They've been talking them up, like the coaching staff too. No doubt. And I do think he's going to start. Like I do. Now, maybe not. Maybe it's Shamar. We'll see.

Starting point is 00:18:26 But I think that that's, it's an interesting conversation. And I want to run a hypothetical contract scenario slash offer and whether or not you think that the Bengals would offer it and that Miles would accept it. So we can do that coming up next. Today's show is brought to you by Fandall. The NBA playoffs are here. And every possession matters. If you're looking to get even closer to the action, Fandall has a great. offer to get you started with LeBron trying to take down the thunder at 41 years old.

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Starting point is 00:19:37 That is fandal.com to get started. Fandel, play your game. All right, James, you got a hypothetical for me? Yeah. The Bengals call Miles Murphy's agent and say, Miles, yeah, you were the 28th pick. The 5th year option, but we love you. We believe in you. We want you around long term. We decline the fifth year option because of the cap situation that we're in. Here's a three-year $40 million extension that we would love to keep you here for the next four seasons, three on top of this one. Does Miles turn it down? And there's going to be a lot of people that say yes because of the numbers that could be headed his way if he gets to free. agency. But this is also a guy that has eight and a half career sacks. It's generational money. It's still good money. It's better than Osai money, which I keep mentioning him because I wonder if

Starting point is 00:20:35 this is the Bengals logic. And if that fifth year option was exercised, I don't think he would say yes. I think now it would be mighty, mighty tempting to get and lock yourself into a real payday before going into a fourth season where there is uncertainty. And it could go well, but it may not go well. And so I wonder how much consideration that Miles Murphy and his camp would give it if that was the offer. I don't think that's quite enough. I think to move him to accept that,

Starting point is 00:21:08 because there's risk for him to do that, right? There's risk both ways. One of them is a risk of being locked in and taking a step. And if you believe in yourself, like NFL players do, especially first round picks who have been, you know, he was a big recruit going to Clemson. He played at a big program. He's always been the guy, as it were, until he got to the NFL. And then it hasn't gone quite his way yet until last year when he started to take those steps with the opportunity he had.

Starting point is 00:21:34 But for a guy who's 24 years old this year, he's going to bet on himself, I think. And I think to get him not to bet on himself, it would just take more. And maybe I'm wrong about that. Maybe he would take that kind of offer because that's a lot of money. You're right. It is, in fact, generational money. Like you said, like to any normal human being, that's a ton of money. He's made, what, $12.5 million.

Starting point is 00:22:00 If you include this year, he will have made $12.5 million in the NFL. If you include this year. Yeah, you're talking about more than tripling that on a next contract, probably a pretty decent signing bonus there, right? Maybe $10 million extra dollars right. up front and probably pretty strong cash flow. But if you're Miles Murphy at this point and that offers coming in at a smaller API than the fifth year option would have been, I think that there's like an ego aspect

Starting point is 00:22:30 there, which is like, man, you really think that three years at less than what you would have had to pay me let next year. So I think that's a factor knowing that inflation is happening in all these things. I think another factor is just the confidence that these players have. have to bet on themselves and know that if he does bet on himself and he has a solid or better season, maybe he takes another step, right? And he has every reason to think that he would. Then you can get to the open market where you do see guys get paid at a higher level.

Starting point is 00:23:05 So just for comparison's sake, like over the cap has Joseph O'Sai's valuation at $9.3 million and he gets 11 and a half on the open market, which is what, like about. 20% more. They have Miles valuation at 11.4. You get to the open market and you take a step. But you're betting on yourself, right? That's all.

Starting point is 00:23:28 I think Miles Murphy has every reason in his mind to bet on himself here and to try to take another step this season and then get to the point where you're threatening open market competition for the Bengals to try to retain you. Sure. And I think that's

Starting point is 00:23:44 the delicate. Delegates the wrong word, but that's the balance that they need to strike. Because if you're the Bengals, you can't overpay for meh. You've been on this for a long time. They paid a lot of money for just math players. And that's what I think is interesting here is like Miles Murphy may very well be that, just an average guy. Great measurables and just kind of, yeah, he's fine. And I don't want that for $20 million per year. Like if Boye-Mafé is just fine, okay, well, you had to do something, but I'm not going to feel great about that a year from now. if he has success.

Starting point is 00:24:17 The boy in Moppe move wasn't a move to get average. It was a move that's a bet on the traits and the upside that he had shown, right? Like it's a bet on him returning to some of the production levels that you've seen in the past in a bigger opportunity. Well, no doubt. But that's what's interesting here. Like, I wonder what Mofpe would. It would have to be the same thing for miles, right? Like, it would have to be the same.

Starting point is 00:24:39 If you're going to offer him a long-term deal, you're projecting that that continued growth in ascension, right? Yep. And so what's the cap on that if you're the Bengals? Clearly the one year 14.5 million guaranteed is too much, at least in their minds. So I'm thinking like longer the three years, 13 and a half versus I'm just trying to find the middle ground where an extension could happen. I do think it's tough now. I think it's tough to find common ground where the extension could happen because clearly the Bengals value him at a certain degree. That is not where the fifth year option was.

Starting point is 00:25:14 And if you don't value them there, then are you going to be able to get a long-term deal done? I think there's a lot of angles to this. Do they need to get a long-term deal done with Miles? Like, we get emotional when it comes to this stuff. And it's like, oh, you got to pay this guy and this guy and this guy. It's like, well, all right, take a step back. Is this a need that you have to do? A must.

Starting point is 00:25:36 DJ Turner, if he's a lockdown CB1, like that's a must. You can't let CB1 walk out. a seven sack a year guy that's solid and sets the edge and like it's a good player not sure it's a must and so what is he really i'm trying to understand both sides here because obviously it would be cool to see miles get paid and stick around and i and i wonder if the three for 40 is probably where the bengals would be and then miles pops to bet on himself wouldn't shock me one bit if it's a sam hubbard equivalent deal and that's what that is to me with the new market i think three for four because he signed a four for 40.

Starting point is 00:26:13 Is that what Sam did? Yeah. Like if it's like a mid-level deal, and that would put him like in the top, what, 40-ish? I mean, it's behind David Bailey, right? 13 and a half, nine or so. Then I think you should stomach that. Like, that should be an offer that Bengals make.

Starting point is 00:26:30 And if Miles takes it, great. Because I think that that's like a fair deal for that kind of player. And he might. So what he's shown so far? I just am not projecting. that right now. I don't think that there's any way to say with any level of confidence that the Bengals are going to approach Miles Murphy about an extension this offseason.

Starting point is 00:26:47 I think that that is a conversation for after the 2026 season and we'll see how he does. And maybe they will regret not having applied the fifth year option if he goes out there and takes another step and he gets plus two in sacks and tackles for loss this year plus three. And he's a consistent player for you on an every down basis. And he continues to play with the violence and hustle that we saw from him down the stretch. then maybe the Bengals do regret it and they don't have that extra year. On the other hand, they're probably thinking about a scenario where Shamar Stewart does take a step. They're not giving up on Shamar Stewart.

Starting point is 00:27:21 And I know that a lot of fans, and heck, even we in the immediate aftermath of that draft, were not huge fans of that pick despite like some of the picks this year. You can see the vision. You can see the upside. He has all the physical ability in the world. The Bengals are still expecting miles to, or not miles from, to take a step and realize some of that physical potential into more football production. And they went out and got boy in mafia.

Starting point is 00:27:46 They went out and got cash is how there's a reason that I mentioned those guys numerous times in this episode because they now have all these guys at that position and competition at that position with real investments of draft fix and money. And so that's part of it too, I think, for the Bengals in figuring out, do we want to pay miles or do we want to bank on some of the other investments that we've made at the position, including drafting Cassius Howl in the second round this year. And then the other part of it, like we're talking about, is the cap situation for next year.

Starting point is 00:28:17 I don't know if people have really fully appreciated how the Bengals probably feel about their cap situation next year. They have one of the fewest amount of players under contract in 2027 in the NFL when compared to other teams or bottom five in number of players under contracts. You see, yeah, they have $59 million in projected cap space. but then when you fill the roster out with veteran minimum guys to get them to 53 or 51, if you're in the offseason rules, then really they actually have $37.5 million in cap space. And if they're talking about $37.5 million for the Bengals, that's much more real than, say, negative $30 million in cap space for the bills or negative $55 million in cap space for the Ravens because those teams are much more cap flexible. we'll do more in terms of restructures and cutting guys

Starting point is 00:29:09 and maneuvering around the cap with void years and stuff like that where you see that number for the Bengals and they might be a little bit maneuverable. I do think I have this theory that is percolating that they're just trying to put off the restructure for Joe Burrow until next year and then they might start this process next year for restructuring guys like Joe and Jamar. But the cap situation for the Bengals when you look at their number for next year is much more real for them than most of the, other teams in the NFL besides maybe the Steelers and the Packers.

Starting point is 00:29:40 The only thing you mentioned and there's a whole topic here so we can put it on the sheet. Burrow restructure. The future episode sheet. The future episode topic sheet. Yeah. Yeah. It might be Borough extension. Like it's very much could be something that they try to do next.

Starting point is 00:30:00 You know, I mean, because 27, 28, 29. Like yeah, you could restructure those years. or it might be time to revisit it and try, you know, especially if this year goes well. And if I'm them, that's exactly what I would want to do. But, you know, that means getting ahead. That means doing it. But like, for real, like, that's what they should be doing. Like, if he plays well this year and they're good, again, then maybe that's it.

Starting point is 00:30:24 And maybe that's what they're thinking. It's like, what? Should we restructure this year just to add years next year? And the answer is probably yes. Yeah. But it's May 3rd. not March 3rd, right? Or February 3rd.

Starting point is 00:30:38 Like they've already kind of picked their path to a degree. So yeah. And I do think they have a plan. I think that they have gamed a lot of this out. I think that they have thought about how the DJ Turner and or Dax Hill extensions fit into this because that's part of it too, right? Because those cap hits, they won't necessarily be huge next year for those guys. But they'll be something.

Starting point is 00:30:59 They'll be for Dax maybe similar, but for DJ certainly would increase compared to this year. those guys aren't accounted for next year's cap at all. So they will have some guys that, you know, Jordan Battle could be in the extension conversation as well. Chase Brown could be in the extension conversation as well. And so with some of the guys are thinking about extending, when you throw those guys into the cap picture next year in addition to the stick that would be immovable in a $14.5 million cap hit for Miles Murphy if they were to pick up that fifth year option, then that idea from Duke

Starting point is 00:31:32 that, yeah, this is going to be largely a financial decision. and, you know, can really play out because of that $37.5 million in cap space that if you took off 14, it's down to, what, 23 in cap space is a real number for the Bengals. Like, that is not, there's going to actually be $60 million in cap space after we do all of our cap maneuvering. Like, then they're talking about tough decisions looking at, you know, contracts like BJ Hill and Mike Gassicki next year for cap cuts instead of necessarily looking. had some restructures, although they both, they have all those options. But like, those are real conversations, I think, that they would have to have when they're looking at the Miles Murphy fifth year option that I think were big contributing factors. Like, I think they're looking at that 27 cap number and they're feeling it in a pretty significant way here. Yeah. The more we discuss

Starting point is 00:32:25 it, like I would, maybe it's three for 42. But you say, hey, hey, Miles, like if you really want them, like if they actually wanted them, I wonder if you could. sweeten it enough and be like, you could be our Hubbard of this generation, of this, you know, and do it that way. I don't know. For them, like,

Starting point is 00:32:46 their perspective on that has got to be like, Hubbard had such a longer track record at that point when he got that extra deal. Like Miles has done it for sure. Yeah. Well, and that's probably what they're saying is let's see it. Because right now what we've seen is replaceable,

Starting point is 00:33:01 even last year. Like I wonder if it is that. We love what he was doing. He needs to do it more. Otherwise, because if you think about some of the fifth year options, they did pick up, even the Dax one, it worked out. But man, at the time, and I'm the biggest Dax person ever, I was like, it's a lot of money for a dude coming off of an ACL.

Starting point is 00:33:19 And you don't even know if he's going to play inside or outside or what he's going to be. And it worked out. Thank goodness they did that. But it's, you just never know. I mean, it easily could have went the other way where he had a slow recovery period because of it. We saw Cheeto, same way, coming off the ACL. It takes time. And yeah, it didn't for a deck.

Starting point is 00:33:38 So, yeah, I, there are some plenty of angles we haven't covered today that we'll have to cover over the next few weeks. I mean, we just 34 minutes on the Miles Murphy fifth year option itself. There's all these tentacles attached to it. We'll conclude there. We've still got some draft stuff to circle back to. We've got to talk about how these rookies are going to fit in in year one, what the roles for these rookies will be. we've got some potential linebacker discussion that will be lingering until there is a move made at linebacker for this team as well. So still plenty of interesting stuff to talk about here on the lockdown Bengals podcast.

Starting point is 00:34:16 We hope you're back with us for the next one. Until then, thanks for listening to this episode of the Lockdown Bengals podcast, Hoodey and have a good book.

Locked On Bengals - Daily Podcast On The Cincinnati Bengals - Bengals DECLINE Myles Murphy's Fifth-Year Option: Was It the Right Decision?

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