Locked On Bengals - Daily Podcast On The Cincinnati Bengals - Bengals Mandatory Minicamp Day 1: Joe Burrow puts in EXTRA WORK as Josh Newton’s INT turns heads

Starting point is 00:00:00 The Cincinnati Bengals just kicked off mandatory minicamp and Joe Burrow is already staying late, getting extra work in with his wide receivers. Let's break down the takeaways from day one of Bengals mandatory minicamp. 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. He's Joe Goodberry. I'm Jake. let's go. We are your host of

Starting point is 00:00:36 Lockdown Bengals. Been covering the Bengals between the two of us for well over a decade and that makes this your best one-stop shop for all things Bengals. As the Bengals have kicked off mandatory mini camp, everyone in attendance will get through all of the news and notes

Starting point is 00:00:52 to do with the Bengals first day of mini camp as the off-season program is coming to its conclusion this week Joe. We also heard from Katie Blackburn. She met with the contingent of Bengals media members that traveled to the owner's meetings and did not get to talk with her there when she chose or the team chose for her not to meet with the media at owner's

Starting point is 00:01:14 meetings. And since then, they, of course, have traded for Dexter Lawrence and restructured Joe Burrow. And so that backdrop has changed, I think, on the conversation that could have happened and now has happened with Katie Blackburn, Elizabeth Blackburn also there. She and her sister were also promoted to vice president roles. We'll discuss the table. takeaways from the Bengals Ownership Group meeting with that group of media a little bit later in the show because there were some football happening today, some seven-on-seven drills occurring at Bengals minicamp. And we want to start with all of those notes as the Bengals got started at minicamp. And Joe Burrow, Mrs. Presser, we were expecting to hear from Joe Burrow today on Tuesday as we're recording this episode. He stayed late.

Starting point is 00:01:55 He's rescheduled to talk on Wednesday. We'll see how that shifts the rest of the media schedule this week. but we are expecting to hear from Burrow tomorrow. Burrow already saying late. Not the first time, I think, in the last couple of weeks that he's been out there notably after practice getting some extra work in. Yeah, I think this goes all in line with the intensity of practice

Starting point is 00:02:17 of off-season so far in Cincinnati that everyone kind of feels it, everyone can see it, even the quotes from the Blackburns of how they can see the level of the team, the talent of the team, and how that pushes us. them to make other moves. I think everyone can feel that. And on the other hand, Joe Burrow did throw an interception today, a rare interception for, especially for camp. It seems like sometimes he does push it a little bit. This is a guy who had the league lowest turnover worthy throw rate,

Starting point is 00:02:46 according to PFF last year. So it's a rare thing. And boy, did they celebrate on the other side. I wonder if that sparked a little bit of that fire in Joe Burrow that we know he is. Yeah, he does not like it when he throws an interception and practice, especially when it comes in seven-on-seven. However, I would say that when, he's been asked about this sort of thing in the past and he might be asked about it tomorrow. We'll see maybe he'll throw another one and he'll definitely be asked about it then. He's always kind of chalked it up to this time of year he does intentionally push the envelope a little bit more, make some throws that in games he wouldn't necessarily make to find out what kind of windows are there

Starting point is 00:03:22 and how that may or may not have changed from season to season. And it was a great play from Josh Newton, to be honest, the drive to get downhill and we'll talk about Josh Newton a little bit as a result of this play, because it really is a highlight for him, showing some bursts that we're not accustomed to seeing from him. The knock on Newton from the time he was drafted until present is that he is just a little bit limited athletically to make it as a starting level NFL corner. But on this particular play, it's an out route from T. Higgins that it's an outside stem. It's an outside break.

Starting point is 00:03:55 Newton's leaning on it the whole time. It's not the best throw. It's not the best route, but neither are terrible. and Newton with a great read and great break on the ball to undercut T. Higgins on an out route. It's a pretty impressive play for Josh Newton at this point in the offseason, especially in 7-on-7. Like, it's not like there's any sort of pass rush happening. Like 7-on-7 heavily skewed in the offense's favor makes it all the more impressive. Yeah, no doubt.

Starting point is 00:04:20 Good point on the 7-on-7 skewing towards the offense because there are a couple plays that we saw from the clips from the media that was at practice today, where it looks like, bro, you know, 1, 2, 3, read, all right, and now I can. and hit, you know, this guy, and he's, of course, Mikeasek, he's open at that point. And it's, uh, but on this point, you're right. I slowed it down because I wanted to see you, how did Newton break on this ball so quickly? Because that is not something, if I'm writing a scouting report on him, I would not say he has elite speed. I would say he probably has below average speed. I would go as far as to say he's slow at times. The acceleration hasn't always been there for him. I always thought he might be better

Starting point is 00:04:55 off in the slot. Bengals really haven't gotten him in the mix there. He's on the boundary here, covering T. Higgins and off coverage, and he clicks and closes and undercuts this ball, and he has to reach with everything he's got to get this ball secure it. The defense on the sideline just explodes because that's a pick six, not just a interception, right? Like nobody's getting him in that scenario when you undercut and break on a sideline throw like that. That's why there's some of the most dangerous throws, and your quarterback has to be on time, accurate, and throw a good enough zip to get it there. And I didn't think bro, I had great zip, but more than enough, he's completed that past hundreds of

Starting point is 00:05:29 hundreds of times, not even just in games, but it practices. And it was just, that's off to Newton on that one. Yeah, maybe a little tiny bit late, maybe a little tiny bit inside, maybe just a little tiny bit, not enough zip. And it's a good, really good play from Newton to get downhill. T. Higgins looked surprised. Yeah, it was in front of them. Like his reaction was like, oh, yeah, I'm going to catch this ball.

Starting point is 00:05:51 It's going to be routine. I'll take my two steps in bounds and I'll get out of bounds. And we'll go on to the next play. Ho-hum, on we go, workman-like. But, oh, no, Josh Newton gets a, underneath that ball and makes a good play on it. You mentioned the slot and Newton working in the slot and Newton rotating in, obviously there to get some competition against the number ones.

Starting point is 00:06:09 And the rotation at slot corner also continued on Tuesday where now we've seen Jalen Davis with the ones. We've seen Jazeer Taylor with the ones in open practices over the last couple of weeks to the point that last week we had Jaseer Taylor Day of OTAs where it was a couple of big plays involving Jaseer Taylor that day. And today it was Braylin Lux getting into the slot. and I know that you've done a lot of work on Braylon Lux and are relatively bullish on him for a young,

Starting point is 00:06:35 unproven player in the NFL, but that seems to be the competition that is occurring at Slot Corner. You have multiple undrafted players and Jaseer Taylor, who I can't remember if he was drafted later. He was. But multiple undrafted players in Jalen Davis and Braylon Lux competing with Jaseer Taylor for that job right now. And three practices, three different players rotating in with the ones.

Starting point is 00:06:58 We'll see what the rest of this week brings to bear. But one of the question marks on the roster is going to have competition, obviously. And these are the three guys that seem to be firmly in the rotation competing for that job. Yeah, I think we can call it a full-blown competition at this point. Coming into camp, I wasn't sure that we have really any open position battles. You know, I thought not just Jaylon Davis being penciled in, I would go as far as to say, maybe erascible pen. you know, like I felt good of him being in that position and being the slot corner. Not that, you know, I thought it was limited tape last year and they didn't ask him to do much.

Starting point is 00:07:35 But what they asked him to do, he was very good at. And he was part of when the secondary really stabilized in the second half of the year with Dax going to the boundary. So I thought at the very least they would lean on him. And he did get the first reps in the first practice. But since then, Jaseer Taylor has played there. Braylon Lux has played there. And to me, there's no real difference between those three. and Lux is probably the better athlete.

Starting point is 00:07:58 He's probably the faster player with the best ball skills of the three. And if you're asking me like three traits I would like, those are three traits I would really like out of that position at Corner in general. So when I went back and watched the tape of him and I did that on my film show Bengals on the Brain, you can check that episode out, watch all the tape of Brain and Lux. He only got activated for two games last year. But in the Cardinals game, he even covered Trey McBride. I thought he did a really good job in that one.

Starting point is 00:08:21 So he's a quicker player, faster player, and he's aggressive and he's aggressive and we'll tackle. I just think if it's a straight up competition, what this probably tells me, to be honest, Jake, is that the position's not good. And that's probably a spot they should be looking at in the summer and see if there's a veteran that can upgrade the slot corner spot for them. Yeah, there are one or two moves that the Bengals could still make. Slot corner linebacker two at the top of the list on the defensive side of the ball. We've talked about swing tackle on the offensive side of the ball. Shout out James Rapine, have Brian Parker on his show, His new show, First Word with James Rapine.

Starting point is 00:08:55 Brian Parker talked about where he's been reppping. And we'll see if we have time to talk about that this week, working at Center quite a bit with Joe Flacco and Josh Johnson. A lot of experience between those quarterbacks for a young guy who's trying to get his legs under him in the NFL and make the potential position swap from tackle to center. So that's a fun little insight there from James' show. But Braylon walks back to that topic, just an undersized player, right? He had reasonable athleticism, great 10 yards,

Starting point is 00:09:22 split, but not necessarily the long speed. So that's where the quicker than fast comment comes from, I think, for you going back to his RAS card where he had a 92nd percentile, 93rd percentile, 10-yard split, but just the 70th percentile. So a little bit worse in the overall 40. Good shuttle, good three comb, but the size is just not there at 510, 179. I'd be really curious to know how that size has changed, if at all, through one year of an NFL conditioning and strength program.

Starting point is 00:09:54 But we have a few more notes that we want to get to here from day one of mandatory mini camp, some highlights that you mentioned, a Charlie Jones play, a Mike Gaseki play that we can talk about a little bit as well as we continue the conversation before we get to the Katie and Elizabeth Blackburn topic a little bit later in the show. We'll get to those topics coming up next. This episode of Lockdown Bengals is sponsored by Indeed sponsored jobs. Like, sometimes you need to fill a position. You have that one spot open on your roster that you need the right fit.

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Starting point is 00:12:56 That's RUGIET.com slash locked on NHL for 15% off. Ruggiat, performance medicine for Mennon. Jake, we've got other news and notes from day one of mandatory camps. I've wrote down six things here. We really only got to one, which was the slot corner job, the battle there, and it's a full-blown battle between Brain and Lux, Jalen Davis, and Jassir Taylor. Once we, you know, the Josh Newton picked, that was a big storyline from the first day of practice. But once that happened, I think the play of the day may have come right after that for Joe Burrow.

Starting point is 00:13:33 And that was the second play from practice of seven on sevens. The play of the day may have came right after where Burrow goes deep to Charlie Jones. Hey, Charlie Jones, practice guy, right? Every time it seems like in camp or in practice, Charlie Jones is involved with the ones or he's making a play. And here he did it again. I have some great shots of that floating around social media where Charlie, Charlie's beating Josh Newton downfield, has to reach up for it, kind of bats it back to himself.

Starting point is 00:13:57 This is a deep ball, probably 40 yards downfield. It gets maybe even tipped by Josh Newton on the backside. Charlie Jones reaches back, pulls it in, looks like he's hitting the ground, is able to maintain control. I didn't see the laces move. There was some good slow motion captures of that play. Just a heck of a grab for Charlie Jones downfield. And every time he does, I go, maybe this is the year he can help the team,

Starting point is 00:14:19 but I'm not putting too much stock into it, but tremendous play. A big thing with Charlie Jones has always been, can you just stay healthy for a year? Because it feels like every single year in training camp, there's something that causes them to miss time. And when you miss time in training camp and you have this wide receiver room and guys that are on the field that this team does trust, it's just harder and harder to get reps. And I think they like Charlie Jones. I think he will have a role as a returner on this team. That's his clearest job right now. But every now and then you still do get these flashes of him as a receiver.

Starting point is 00:14:50 And he was obviously incredibly productive in his final. year in college. And we haven't really seen that. You haven't really seen them have the opportunity in the NFL. The opportunities have been so limited. So much of that comes out to injury. But you're right, there was an official there. The Bengals had officials at practice today. He signaled catch. Charlie said in the locker room after practice that the ref indicated that the ball did not touch the ground. It looked like Charlie was inbound as he came down on the sideline. That might have been the one thing that was hard to tell. Did he slide out of bounds as he was coming down before he controlled the football? But that was a heck of a play. The other one that you mentioned,

Starting point is 00:15:22 really impressive one-handed grab pluck out of the air from Mike Gaseki on a ball downfield and I wonder who screwed up on that play wide open very open and the closest player was wearing a number that started with a four which a linebacker look we have questions about the linebackers and I don't know what happened on that play right like we get a weird angle from the sideline it's seven on seven who knows what exactly happened on that play but nobody was covering my Keseki. And it was a heck of a catch, really impressive catch, really fun to watch Gaseki to wait. He almost like backhands it with one hand. Yes, that's how I was going to

Starting point is 00:16:00 try to describe it. He almost follows this hand of the flight path of the ball, right? And almost catches up to the ball and grabs the back half of it. And he's reaching seven feet in the air, right? It has to be how tall he is. And he's reaching his maximum plus off the ground a little bit. So just absolutely crazy catch. I'd love to see that in slow motion. I bet the Bengals Instagram or something will have that posted later. Yeah, that was a fun one too. The other notes that we have today, one that stands out and it's almost certainly precautionary at this time of year, but Dax Hill, not participating in seven-on-sevents, according to

Starting point is 00:16:32 who is that Marshall Cramski? Did he have that report? I believe that's what was, yes. One of our local esteemed beat coverage folks from Cincinnati with that note. What else do you have for mini-camp notes today, Joe? Interesting one, because Ryan Rico, the punter, well, I never really even seen him speak. I watched the video with Mike Petraiglia in the locker room afterwards. He's talking about he was asked to kick today and do field goals.

Starting point is 00:16:58 This is normally your punter, normally your holder for field goals, which I also went back to the video to see who is the holder. And then if Ryan Rico is the one doing the kicks. This is an emergency scenario. It sounds like he kicked all through high school, his freshman year in college, until COVID happened. And then when they came back, he was like, yeah, I'm just a punter from now on. So he hasn't done it.

Starting point is 00:17:19 He said his longest was a 50. 57-yarder his junior year in high school. He went three for four today. He said he may have missed that third one. He wasn't sure if it got over or not. But he felt like he could hit confidently within 40, and he hit all of his extra points today. Very interesting.

Starting point is 00:17:35 Now, I tried to zoom in and see who that holder was, because if an emergency scenario... It's Tanner Hudson. That's what I was going to say. Yes, it was Tanner Hudson, who was also the emergency long snapper, because we've seen that in a situation. It was Mitch Wilcox before.

Starting point is 00:17:50 And then they said it would be Tanner Hudson. If they got to it, that was from a few years ago. So Hudson, the do-it-all kind of guy tells you where he is on the roster. They love the guy. But yeah, in an emergency scenario, if something happened to Evan McPherson, let's hope it doesn't, sounds like Rico could hit from 40 plus, and then it would be Tanner Hudson holding it. It would probably just be used for extra points though if they get to a game scenario. Yeah, I think extra points.

Starting point is 00:18:14 That was a takeaway when I was listening to Rico. It's like, I was good from extra point range. That was a point of emphasis that I took away from. that one. I wonder who the longsapper was if Hudson was holding. I wonder who that new emergency longstop. I guess maybe it was just a regular long sapper. Yeah, because if you got three guys down, we got an issue. Yeah, there's problems there. That can't happen in one game. What else you got, Joe, from today's minicamp? No, that was it. Those were all the notes from today's camp. Otherwise, Gaseki did have another catch when Jalen Davis was with the ones. So Davis did get

Starting point is 00:18:41 reps with the ones as well. This was a burrow going multiple reads. And then I want to say Gaseki kind of went off his route and made something happen. you know, and second reaction from the quarterback, the play went a little long. But it was a nice throw and catch over Jalen Davis. That's just, again, size matchup there that is completely sliding towards the Bengals' offensive favor. Yeah. One correction here. Charlie Clifford with a report that Dax Hill did not participate in seven-on-seven.

Starting point is 00:19:06 Sorry, Charlie. Got that right now. Had some great conversations with Charlie Clifford when I was in Cincinnati last year. Very kind human being on the Bengals beat. Appreciate him. Marshall had something we have referenced today then. So it's not, that doesn't go without warrant. Before we get to the Katie Blackburn conversation to wrap up here, just one fun quote from Eric

Starting point is 00:19:27 all is Lockhart from Jeremy Rowe, who talked to Dalton Riser as well. Make sure you're checking those videos out. Jeremy does a great job as well. This is just a heck of a quote from Eric Al, making a catch is cool, but I'm in heaven where you bury somebody or pancake somebody. And Eric Al fully embracing that physicality that Zach Taylor praised him for not too long, go. Joe, I'll get your, go ahead. Did you see the clip that the Bengals Post on social media was really cool as borough and his weapons? Let's talk about that in just a minute before we get to the

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Starting point is 00:20:47 That's what the Bengals are working on right now in training camp, building camaraderie, knowing that you're playing for the guy besides, you across the ball from you. And that's true in sports, just like it is in business. It can also go back to just to recall the Dexter Lawrence move again. Sometimes you have a vision, you stick to it, you find that big move that the Bengals were sniffing around for this off season, and now you see the results because everyone's

Starting point is 00:21:10 working from the same playbook on the same page. Great organizations win because operations matter. And that's why you should get Odo. Try today for free at Odu.com slash lockdown. That's O'D.D. dot com slash locked up. Joe, there was a notable image that I also logged away in my brain was going to bring up today a couple of times. It's the one that you were just talking about before the break.

Starting point is 00:21:41 The Bengals posted this video of Joe Burrow and his weapons. There's two running backs. There's two tight ends. There's two receivers. Obviously, there's two receivers are going to be Jamar Chase and T. Higgins. Obviously, the two running backs are going to be Chase Brown and Somagetipirang. Although I was surprised to see Piron there and not a third receiver instead. But the top two guys, they went with two guys for each position.

Starting point is 00:22:01 Then you get to the tight ends. And the reason you brought this up is because we were talking about Eric Al. And it's Mike Keseki on one side and Eric Al on the other side, which is just another big vote of confidence for Eric Al and his ability to be on the field this year coming from Bengals Media Day and the Bengal social media team. Somebody's rolling their eyes right now, but I was legitimately shocked to see this. I looked and said Eric all and I watched it. That's Eric all with those guys. And I know, I feel like I have underrated all offseason and no pun intended there. But it's because the health is such a big thing that even when you're making this little promo,

Starting point is 00:22:44 like doesn't the health, don't you consider that at all? And maybe it's just fun for right now. But at the same time, it's Burrow and it's Burrough T. Higgins, Jemar Chase. Chase Brown, Somaday P. Ryan. Like, everyone knows who these guys are. You, any fantasy player knows who these guys are. Mike Keseki, everyone knows who they are. And then Eric All.

Starting point is 00:23:04 And I, that it just shocks me to see him out there. But it's awesome. It tells us what they think and maybe potentially tells us this. But I do think they're expecting him to have a large role this season. Maybe they think he's just more marketable. And maybe that's what it comes down to. A local Cincinnati, maybe. He's not Drew Sanfell.

Starting point is 00:23:23 I think that Eric All is probably more popular than Drew Sample when they're both on the field. You can put Drew Sample there, right? I don't think you can put Drew Sample there. But at the same time, like Drew Sample's been with this team forever and has had a role in this team since he was drafted in the second round. Former second round pick Drew Sample on his second contract. You know, like toward the end of a second contract too. Maybe it's nothing. But it was interesting.

Starting point is 00:23:46 We both noted it. I noticed it too. I was like, huh, interesting they put Eric All there. And then I saw some Majai Pryan. And I was like, okay, maybe they're just, they're going two tight ends or going to running back. So maybe there's not much there. But even then. Maybe there's something there.

Starting point is 00:24:00 Maybe not. But it is interesting. And Eric Hall has been doing as much as he can throughout this entire process. We've talked about him, I think, three weeks in a row now. So I think it's noteworthy. And it should be exciting to see what he can do at training camp. Seems like he's very excited to be back on the field. And hopefully the Bengals get a healthy air call this year.

Starting point is 00:24:20 Katie Blackburn spoke, took everybody by surprise a little bit yesterday, who was not part of the group that traveled to the owner's meetings. That group kept it under wraps. Ben Baby was part of that group, Paul Dana Jr. part of that group, Kelsey Conway, part of that group. And I believe Jeff Hobson was there as well. The group that traveled to the owners meetings where Katie Blackburn did not speak, got to speak with her on Monday. And not a whole lot to take away, in my opinion, Joe, there were quite a few platitudes. She was asked about the restructure. they were asked about the Ring of Honor,

Starting point is 00:24:51 which maybe got one of the more interesting answers in that the Bengals really seem uncomfortable talking about the process for the Ring of Honor don't have great answers for why the veterans, the older players, the original group of players, can't just get in. There's never been a satisfactory answer there. But also, in the same day,

Starting point is 00:25:13 you get the promotions for Caroline and Elizabeth Blackburn, the next generation of Blackburn is promoted to vice president roles from director level roles. And Elizabeth, much more public-facing. You hear from her a lot more than Caroline, but both of them active in the organization in different roles and their roles expanding. They're certainly on track to be the next generation of the Brown Blackburn family in taking these bigger roles in Cincinnati.

Starting point is 00:25:39 So now the Blackburn daughters have the same level of role as their dad and Troy Blackburn, also a vice president and Katie's brother, Paul Jr., also a vice president within the organization. So the grandkids now on that same level. Katie is still an executive vice president one step ahead, but a big promotion for the two daughters. I don't know what the vice president does if you have that many vice presidents, to be honest with you. But it means that they are clearly with that group of decision makers now. And I bet if you asked, this seems like a formality because it seems like they were already in on these decisions and already making, you know, decisions as a unit as a family, you know, it altogether. But yes, Katie Blackburn is still the executive vice president.

Starting point is 00:26:35 So, you know, if you just were looking at it and want to know when that day happens when, you know, Katie is the head of the organization, if she's not already, she might even consider her that now, the next generation is not. She's the one talking at owners. Yeah. Right. That's what I mean. At this point, it's a Katie Blackburn run team and organization. And this just solidifies now the next level of how it's going to proceed probably in 30 years. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:27:03 And one of the bigger takeaways from their conversation, because like I said, a lot of platitudes offered like, yeah, we did the restructure because we felt like it was appropriate. Great. They weren't really pressed on other contract structures as far as I know. So they talked a little bit about the Dexter Lawrence trade. They talked about, I think Elizabeth talked about wanting to be aggressive in the offseason, which lines up with the idea that they kicked the tires on Max Crosby at least once, I think, multiple times.

Starting point is 00:27:30 Throughout the off season, that one didn't come to fruition earlier in the off season. And eventually the Dexter Lawrence trade does. I think that that was part of their agenda throughout the off season, was looking for a trade target that could make a splash on the defensive side of the ball, as T. Higgins and Jemar Chase made it known. that was something that they would do when they went on their little radio row tour and did a few interviews before the Super Bowl earlier this year. The other one that I thought was really interesting was the confirmation

Starting point is 00:27:58 that the Bengals are, in fact, interested in the city of Cincinnati hosting the NFL draft. It sounded like there were going to be meetings this week between Katie Blackburn and the league to talk about what that might look like. Cincinnati is certainly a suitor. And I think it would be for what, the 2029 draft because the next couple of years are spoken for. There's going to be one in Washington. and I don't remember where the other one's going to be. But the Bengals hosting a draft would be a lot of fun.

Starting point is 00:28:21 It would be cool to see in the city of Cincinnati and might get some more news about that here in the next few weeks as they are talking to the league about it and have a clear interest in hosting the NFL draft. And this goes along with the Bengals wanting to be an international team and kind of build that relationship and fan base abroad. And also, remember, they wanted to be the Black Friday team and host that every year.

Starting point is 00:28:48 So this is just them wanting to be more forward-facing, wanting to be more modern, wanting to be a brand. And they are, you know, all 32 NFL teams pretty much have a strong brand. But the Bengals looking like they want to really be a step forward in that role. If Cincinnati has the draft, I'm there, by the way. Like that sounds like a great time. I've never been to the draft. And I'm a huge draft guy.

Starting point is 00:29:10 I just never seen the appeal of going and going to New York City or going to any of these other cities afterwards. but if it's in Cincinnati, yeah, 100% in there. Yeah, I mean, just in Cincinnati. Yeah. You get the skyline, too. What's wrong with that? That's a good time for everybody involved.

Starting point is 00:29:26 Yeah. Also, some interesting comments about the lease in the stadium and Katie Blackburn wanting to get as much use out of the current stadium as they can. So it'll be interesting to see that direction continue. We don't have to talk about the lease for a while now, now that there's that new agreement in place and everything. Katie said, I have some concerns that too many stadiums are going indoors.

Starting point is 00:29:49 I like the outdoor aspect. So that's an interesting one if you're expecting to see a dome coming in the future for the Cincinnati Bengals. It doesn't sound like ownership is on board right now. So that's an interesting one as well. There was also some discussion around why the Bengals kept Zach Taylor and Duke Tobin. I didn't personally find those answers to be too insightful. It was kind of confirming what we think.

Starting point is 00:30:11 Like, yeah, they got another chance. Joe Burrow was hurt. We'll see what they do with this year. This year is big. The approach to the offseason has shown in every single way throughout the process that this year is big for Taylor, for Tobin. I think their approach to the offseason has mirrored that on every level. That also resonates with what the coaching staff has said.

Starting point is 00:30:32 And the last one is the extension topic for Dax and DJ. Sounds like that's going to be tough is my takeaway there. Katie said that they love both guys. They love Dax, they love DJ, but they feel like they have some commitments already, and it will be a challenge, she said, for us to get those deals done. And I'm paraphrasing a little bit, but we obviously have our work cut out for us as we try to figure out how to retain them, was the actual quote there. So we'll see how that plays out, but that could be kind of, yeah, we don't know that we

Starting point is 00:31:03 can get both of these done, quote, if we're reading between the lines there with Katie Blackburn. Last comment from me then just on the Zach Taylor, and I guess Duke goes in there, they were talking about it. It was that they feel this team is good. They wanted to give those guys a chance to win with the team that they currently have, the roster of the talents, give them a healthy Burrow. I think,

Starting point is 00:31:23 and I'm with them, that if Burrow is healthy, this is a playoff team. And if it's a playoff team, I think we're some people are always, well, when are they going to get rid of Zach Taylor? You're more likely an extension for Zach Taylor.

Starting point is 00:31:34 This team goes to playoffs, maybe wins a playoff game. You're talking about extending Zach. I know it's crazy. But like, think about it. Are we closer to him being fired? If Burrow's healthy or closer than him getting another extension.

Starting point is 00:31:44 I think we're closer to success than the other hand. I mean, we have high expectations for this year. And I think that the outcomes from this year are either an extension or a new coach. I think those are the two choices because he's like most NFL coaches, unlikely, I think, to go into a lame duck coaching season where next year would be the last year for him under contract. So we're talking extension or new coach. And I think the season's going to be acceptable by the Bengal standards and is exciting.

Starting point is 00:32:13 by the standards that we've discussed with all the moves that they've made. So, yeah, I think that's a great point, Joe. We'll wrap up there for this episode of Lockdown Bengals. Two more days of mandatory minicamp. We'll have Mike Petralia with us later this week to talk about what he saw boots on the ground, as it were, and talking to the guys in the locker room. We're expecting to hear from a large contingent of the Bengals brass, including Joe Burrow as well this week.

Starting point is 00:32:36 So we'll have plenty to talk about from the takeaways from all those press conferences and what we see on the field for the next couple of days as well before the Bengals get to their big off-season break where they won't be doing anything on the field until training camp in late July. Until next time, thanks for listening to this episode of the Lockdown Bengals podcast, Ho did. And have a good one.

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