Locked On Bengals - Daily Podcast On The Cincinnati Bengals - Bengals' Offense BOUNCES BACK | Training Camp Day 2 Takeaways

Episode Date: July 24, 2025

Joe Burrow and the Bengals offense bounced back during Thursday's practice, highlighted by deep passes to Tee Higgins. Jake Liscow and James Rapien break down how the offense opened up, the defense's response, and all of the observations from a sweltering practice session. We also analyze Noah Fant's potential signing and how his versatility could improve the Bengals' tight end room. Join the Locked On Bengals Insider Community! https://joinsubtext.com/lockedonbengalsFind and follow Locked On Bengals on your favorite podcast platforms:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/locked-on-bengals-daily-podcast-on-the-cincinnati-bengals/id1159723162Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7AObc0lh0WmQl5fJVgtajsGoogle Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vbG9ja2Vkb25iZW5nYWxz?sa=X&ved=0CAYQrrcFahcKEwio_sXtj8nuAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAgStitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/locked-on-bengalsSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Yahoo FantasyPresented by YahooFantasy #YahooPartner. Play Now at yahoofantasy.com/lockedonnflRugiet150,000 men have made the switch →https://Rugiet.com/LOCKEDONNFLUse code LOCKEDONNFL to get 15% off your order!BetterhelpThis episode is sponsored by Betterhelp. Your well-being is worth it. Visit BetterHelp.com/lockedonnfl today to get 10% off your first month. GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelRight now, new customers can get $150 in BONUS BETS when your first $5 BET WINS! Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started.Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNFL at monarchmoney.com/lockedonnfl for 50% off your first year.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Training camp practices are heating up for the Cincinnati Bengals quite literally, but as the offense opened up, they bounced back on Thursday. You are locked on Bengals, your daily Cincinnati Bengals podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. What on Bengals fans and welcome to another episode of the Lockdown Bengals podcast. Part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. I'm Jake, let's go. He's James Rapine, and we've been hosting Lockdown Bengals. since 2016. Can you believe it?

For a year short of a decade on this podcast, which feels like an insane thing to say. If you're looking for a place for daily news and analysis on your Cincinnati Bengals, you are in the right place. On YouTube, everywhere you get your podcast. You can hit that subscribe button. It makes it really easy not to miss an episode to stay up to date. Shout out to all of you who already have that habit,

who are already everydayers, who already make Lockdown Bengals your first list. and we appreciate all of you deeply for listening to the Lockdown Bengals podcast. Today's episode brought to you by Game Time where you can create an account. Use code Lockdown NFL. You'll get $20 off your first purchase of tickets. And James, you've got a day two of practice with plenty of notes to get to. Heat offense firing on more cylinders, certainly than they fired on for day one of training camp on Wednesday. Noah Fant on a visit with.

the Bengals reportedly on Thursday. We'll get to that a little bit later in the show, but let's get started with how things went in the heat for the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday. Yeah, it was certainly, really a 180. Wednesday, I didn't really think about the heat. As you know, the afternoon practices you always do throughout camp, you have to really prepare mentally for it because you know the sun is just going to be there and there's no shade and that's it. well, on Wednesday there was some shade and it wasn't that bad. And I just was like, whoa, is this just the 10 a.m. practice life? Is this what it's going to be?

And well, no, it turns out Cincinnati in the summer, it's going to be hot regardless. And it's going to be muggy and it's going to be humid and it's going to get into the 90s. And it practice started, I think, in the mid 80s, like 930, 945 when players are starting to go out. And it was certainly in the 90s by the time things ended. And players were going through it a bit for sure. And I think fans were as well, just looking at them. And it's so unique because when you're probably, if you're a fan going and getting in line early, practice gates open at 930, probably getting there around eight, a lot of fans are.

And if you're out there that long, by the time noon rolls around, you're really sweating. And it's a whole different vibe. And that's what it was. The players went through it, but I think it is good for them. I've seen some people say, well, why didn't they just practice in the indoor? No, no, no. They need to practice in the heat some. I think it's a good thing that they're doing that.

But you don't want to overdo it. And I think T. Higgins is the example of that today. Some people on social media got worried when T was stretching. But after having a really successful practice, which we can get into, he was being stretched out by a trainer. Zach Taylor came over. I'm told what Zach said to simple, hey, you've done a good job today. That's it. You're good for today, which is fine.

It's July 24th. It's totally fine with doing that and giving Tia a pat on the back and that's that. But whether it was T. Higgins or Miles Murphy, Josh Newton, multiple guys were dealing with the heat for sure, which again, I do think it is good and totally normal during this stage of training camp day, too. And expect the Bengals to be cautious, especially this part of camps. Zach Taylor has designed the training camp practices for, for the most part, to be two on, one off for the rest of training camp after Friday's practice, which just looking at the forecast here, it's going to be overcast. It's not going to be as hot, at least according to Google right now. We'll see what actually happens, but they're calling for rain. Look, I got to pack bags here.

I got to get ready. I got to bring the umbrella. Okay, thanks for let me know. Well, you bring the umbrella, well, right. That's the trick, right? But supposedly tomorrow are not going to be as bad. We'll see how that shapes out. But the point I was trying to make is it's two on one off.

That whole schedule is designed, according to Zach Taylor, to avoid these soft tissue injuries to make sure guys are recovering between days of hard work and the exertion that they're doing on the field. So it wouldn't surprise me at all, James, if we don't see T. Higgins practice tomorrow after a little bit of a cramp perhaps it was stretched out today, whatever it is. Maybe he practices and it's literally totally fine. Maybe there's an abundance of caution and they say, hey, maybe you should just take a day.

Even if you're fine. Even if you think you're fine. Wouldn't surprise either way. Yeah. It's all I'm saying. I know. I know he's fine. Yeah.

All these guys are fine. It was a vomiting incident for Josh Newton. I think he returned afterward. And it was Miles Murphy going to the locker room to get an IV. T. Higgins, of course, told you. you had this, I think. He's totally fine. So nothing to be worried about, but again, out of an abundance of caution with the two-on,

one-off schedule that's coming, wouldn't surprise me. The other thing here is even if it was hot today, this is not close to the hottest temperatures these guys have endured in training camp practices in Cincinnati. You're talking about low 90s. I remember days we're going out there, and it's high 90s on that Paul Brown, or sorry, Paycor Stadium thermometer that you can see across the street when we're heading back into the stadium. So it's still better in the morning. It would be worse now. So at least there's that. No doubt. No doubt. And they got a lot of good work in too. I think that's it. Like with

with a guy like T, he was running. Like he was going, he was running multiple routes. They were, they were running downfield more. It was all of those things. So you think of it, it's like, oh, well, they didn't do a ton offensively. And the offense wasn't fully opened up, the Jamar Chase's words, not mine. have to practice because they had way more success on offense. And T led the way with multiple big plays. And so when that happens and you're dealing with that heat and the mugginess and humidity, well, it's not shocking for that to happen in him to cramp up and receivers or guys

that are moving a lot for that to happen. But the good news is, you're right. I talked to T directly. I talked to Miles directly. Josh Newton came back in. A lot of these guys have thrown up at one point or another during their football careers maybe not as a pro but during their football careers everyone's fine which is all you want in camp it's only july 24th i was thinking about that too jake is it's july 24th like let's say you do give

tea a day or one of these guys a day the bengals used to still be on break right now like rookies would start to report like july 24th 25th and everything's moved up a little bit because of the nfl schedule but it's like she's just getting earlier and earlier NFL schedule will do that to you the offense was much more successful on Thursday, like you alluded to. They opened things up, not just to Mark Chase's words. We talked about that yesterday on lockdown Bengals as well, that the offense was certainly contained. Joe Burrow, not pushing the ball downfield a significant amount on Wednesday as Zach Taylor likes to let those guys get their legs under them a little bit before they have receivers and dbs running all over the place, running go balls,

that sort of thing. But we did see that on Thursday, which feels early. earlier than we've seen it in the past to me, but based on my recollection of the way they ramp into things in training camp. On top of that, you've got the discussion we had yesterday about the physicality of practice to open things up on Wednesday. So a little bit of difference that you're already noticing in training camp besides just the schedule, the morning practices. So let's dive into what was going on with the offense,

why it was a better day for Joe Burrow, those receivers, and the running game as well. On Thursday, we'll do that coming up next. Today's show is brought to by Game Time. Game time is, well, it's what you need because let's say you decide you want to go to the Reds game at the last minute and you have friends with you, you have family with you and you're like, how am I going to get tickets? Well, it's pretty easy with game time. Game time is going to save you money on tickets.

You can use that money to splurge on food, drinks, any or all of the above. Game time makes buying tickets fast and simple. I've used Game Time. I used Game Time during the Eastern Conference Finals. Nick's Pacers, it was super simple. And that was Eastern Conference finals. So whether it's a Reds game, whether you're thinking, all right, well, Bengals preseason, Bengals, regular season doesn't matter.

Take the guesswork out of buying tickets with Game Time. Download the GameTime app, creating an account. Use code locked on NFL for $20 off your first. purchase terms apply again create an account and redeem code l o c ed o nfl locked on nfl from twenty dollars off download the game time app today last minute tickets lowest price guaranteed jake the bengals offense certainly bounced back i i would say in a big way on thursday and it was right from the jump as i was walking from one field to another they were starting eleven on 11, Joe Burrow conveniently finds T. Higgins for a big gain on the right hash, 20 plus yard

gainer. And it's like, all right, well, here we go. And then he connects with Jermaine Burton on a back shoulder. Some thought it was OPI, wasn't called, no officials there. And so we're going to say Joe Burrow connected with J. Burton on a back shoulder with DJ Turner and coverage. And then really the play of the day. And part of why I get why T. Higgins would need to stretch a little bit in the heat. Deep ball to T. Higgins, perfect placement, I thought, and would have been an easy touchdown for T. So some big plays in the passing game. And that was all, all three of those plays, there were others, too, but all three of those plays were in the first session of 11 on 11. We didn't see any of that on Wednesday. So offensive playbook opens up. Shocker, Joe Burrow T.

Higgins, really, really good at football. Yeah, multiple fighters. I saw in the wake of practice, James, talking about Joe Burroughs proclivity to after a day where he's not happy with practice, the next time he has an opportunity to try to take a shot and get those deep passes going. Credit Camp Taylor Britt broke up, according to reports I saw James,

and you can talk about this if you like, the first deep pass intended for T. Higgins, but the really cool thing about that play of the day that you described that I wanted to go back to was it was a bit of a pistol day perhaps there was a pistol play pistol shotgun play andre yosevash essentially attached to the line of scrimmage a little chip and release there a little bit of extra protection drew sample standing to block on that play uh of course chase brown releases but you get a little deep uh shot play there on on pistol play action just a cool note that that i wanted to

throw in there as it was a fantastic pocket for burrow on that play no you know, would have been a sack to talk about. No, would have been a hit or anything like that, just a clean play for the offense there. The reactions are funny to me, James, because, you know, you see those clips and then it's like, oh, it's the same defenses last year. Okay, guys, like T. Higgins and Joe Burrow are going to beat good defenses

from time to time. And I'm not saying the Bengals are going to be a good defense, but let's not overreact to any individual plays here. We'll just talk about some of the cool things that are happening, some of the trends we're saying throughout camp. Yeah. Let me know how many teams are going to have Joe Burrow, Jamar, Chase, and T. Higgins on the other side that this team is going to face. Right. It's just there's not met. There's a few that have similar, similar setups and weapons that are scary, but there aren't many. It's pretty rare. And so, yeah, they're going to get their own. And they're going to get their plays and make their plays. And what I liked, what I really liked about this practice, Jake, is you had the offense. And I was like, oh, man, like this is it. The offense is dominating. the defense did on Wednesday. It's just a complete 180.

And then the defense kind of settled in and responded. And then on that second round of 11 on 11 and some of the seven on seven after they had been rocked a little bit, I mean, there was another pass in seven on seven. Joe Burrow just threads it to Jammar one time, threads it to T. Higgins over the top, another time where it was just a tear drop right in T's bread basket. And Cam Taylor Britt was right there, had no chance. Just had no chance because the way T used his body and where Joe put the ball. But then they responded.

They weren't pointing fingers and they started making some plays. And I think that that's what you want to see. It's what you need to see. I think DJ Turner responded well. He had a nice pass breakup. DJ Ivy had a nice pass breakup on Andreosovash on the sideline. It was a little back shoulder. It looked like it was going to happen.

It didn't happen. Jake Browning was the quarterback of this one for the. one but yeah the defense they didn't win the day by any stretch but I do think that they they rallied a bit and it wasn't nearly as dominant for the offense as it was for the defense on Wednesday so there you go edge defense still if we're we're counting but the offense certainly went on Thursday yeah I thought the takeaway for me from what I saw was that Joe Burrow looked very sharp the sideline baldage of Mar Chase over the outstretched hand of Oren Burks that got posted on social media is

a beautiful touch pass. Like one of those that's, there's nobody that's getting to that ball. It's just perfectly over the outstretched hand of the linebacker, into Jamar Chase, in stride on the sideline. Really, really, really good throw. The deep ball to T. Higgins, really, really good throw.

Numerous passes for Joe Burrow that showcase the pinpoint accuracy that we're used to today. You also had a fun clip of him scrambling on a play, and I still think he looks good moving around right now. as we kind of got accustomed to last year a little bit when he put in all that work on it. But I still think that Joe looks like he's in great shape, like he's moving really well to start training camp. Not that you would expect otherwise, but it's noticeable to me. I showed him that clip after practice.

And I was like, Joe, and I tweeted it out. Everyone can see it. I tweeted it, put it on Instagram and everywhere. I was like, thanks for not running me over. And he was like, let me see that whole clip. He watches it. And he's thinking he's at his locker. And he's like, next time I'll run you over.

It was pretty good. Yeah, it was pretty good. How many sideline reporters can Joe Burrow take out in one go? Well, now that I'm ready for him, I'm getting, I see, but I want the shot. That's the tough part. Like, I knew he was coming toward me. And, I know. Yeah, so it was one of those things.

But very rarely have I been on the sideline like that where Joe is. running toward it. Usually you get receivers and corners and linebackers or the linemen sometimes, but Joe, that's unique. You're right. I agree with you. I think he's moving well, and I certainly threw it well on Thursday. Nice to have in the mix with that that there are still some PBUs to talk about for all the corners. Dax Hill also working in to seven on seven, which is a nice step for him. BJ Hill did not work at all, just to note some injury stuff there. BJ Hill did not practice on Thursday. It looks like it's going to be very slow as they get BJ Hill ready for the regular season.

Of course, you still have the absences of the defensive end, which means you still have Joseph Osai, Miles Murphy, working quite a bit with the ones there. A lot of extra run for Chris Jenkins, of course, on the interior without BJ Hill. T.J. Slayton's still working with the defensive interior there. It looks like it was still a Cody Ford Day, right guard, James. Is that correct in my eyes, not deceive me? And they did not.

And I think why is because of the Matt Lee situation. Right. We should update that. Good point. Yeah. I think Matt is fine. I talked to him in the locker room. I think he's fine.

But again, this is the early stages of training camp. So Matt Lee, a little nicked up. And they're being cautious with him, which means Lucas Patrick is your second team center. They want to put him at center with Matt Lee, who would normally be there at center,

not going in team drill. So that's all I think that is. And they're saying, hey, let's give Cody Ford a few days. And it might be as simple as these first three days you give Cody Ford. And then you come back on Sunday and it's going to be Lucas Patrick. And hopefully Matt Lee is ready to go. It might be that simple. But, yeah, nothing too concerning for Matt Lee and also those that are worried.

Oh, my God. I can't believe that Lucas. No, I think he's going to get his more than a fair shot at right guard. I still would say he's the favorite at right guard for the Bengals, Lucas Patrick. Yeah, not making any conclusions there through two days of practice. Shouldn't be making any conclusions really about anything. Through two days of practice, you can confirm some priors. Joe Burrow, accurate thrower of the football, I think we can safely verify that that is still the case after two days of practice.

But outside of that, we're not looking to make too many conclusions here early on as the Bengals were getting going in training camp. We'll wrap up with any other day to practice notes we've got for you and then get to the Noah Phant visit, what he would offer the Cincinnati Bengals. A lot of fans wondering where the guard signing is or safety signing, Julian Blackman, signing with the New Orleans Saints after Tyrant Matthew retired. So we'll get to the Noah Fant News as well as any other practice notes to finish up today's show coming up next. Fantasy football is back in this episode of Lockdown Bengals.

It's presented by Yahoo Fantasy this year. of course, I'm in on all of the Yahoo Fantasy football action. And you should too be playing Yahoo Fantasy, whether your first time or a veteran making your millionth league. And I got to be honest, I'm one of those guys. I'm a millionth leaguer. There's no doubt. And celebrate 28 years of fantasy greatness.

Yahoo Fantasy is dropping 28 big new features over 28 days, giving you more ways to play, more ways to drafts, and more ways to win. And it all begins on August 4th. Obviously, goes without saying Yahoo Fantasy. It's awesome, whether you're thinking of PPR League, Standard League, Superflex, they have all of the options for you. Stay tuned and get started by creating or joining a Yahoo Fantasy Football League at Yahoo! Fantasy.com slash Lockdown NFL. That's Yahoo!

Fantasy.com slash Lockdown NFL. And let's make this fantasy season the best one yet. James, what else you got from practice on Thursday before we dive into the NOAA fan visit? I think that... you have anything else practice wise i do not i've exhausted my observations from what i saw i did also read that it was a good day for the running game i saw one it was very hard to judge those things before pads are on from clips that i see online so i don't have a ton to say about that from my my perspective it was i thought chase brown had a few nice runs uh brooks as well and in p ryan

i thought looked better today than he did on wednesday but you're right really hard to judge so we can leave that as a footnote. My other practice observation is, man, oh man, oh man, would Noah Fant look really good in stripes? Because I do think that he would matter. I was looking at the tight ends a bit closer, and I know everyone's worried about guard or thinking about defense or all of those things,

but the Bengals have done what they think they need to do in those areas, and we can yell for months and months and months and say they need to go add this guy or that guy. Clearly they feel comfortable there. Noah Fant became available. this week and he took a visit with the Bengals and is there now on Thursday. And maybe by the time you hear this or watch this, he's not. But yeah, Jake, I thought about it.

Like, all right, well, how would this look? Especially with T. Higgins, not finishing practice. I'm like, okay, well, let's just put ourselves back in Pittsburgh week 18 when the Bengals offense really stalled after T. Higgins left the game. Jomar Chase, Triple Crown winner still on the field. Joe's still on the field. the offense kind of hit a lull there in that second half, well, it would be nice to have another guy.

Another guy that you can do stuff with. It gives you some Gassiki insurance. He can be someone that certainly wins in one-on-one situations as a pass catcher. And he isn't Mike Gassiki when it comes to blocking. He's certainly not a great blocker at tight end. He's not Eric All, but he isn't Mike Gaseki either. And so you can do a little bit of inline stuff. with him, I would say. But he's a pretty darn good pass catcher has had 400 plus yards in each

of his six NFL seasons. There's a reason why you were on the train last off season to sign him because he's a young former first round pick that makes a lot of sense. It's not going to cost nearly as much now. I think it makes a lot of sense and it makes their team better, even if they have other weaknesses. I'm still in on Noah Fan. And there was a shift for Seattle's usage of Noah Phant when he return there from the time that I was interested in the Bengals bringing him in to how he's perceived now. He was split out significantly more last year, used much more as a receiver, much more in the screen game prior to that. Different usage for FAMP, a lot more inline experience, not again, that he's a good blocker. He's not going to be an above average blocker by any stretch of the imagination.

Might even be a below average blocker, but I think a couple things. One, I think Eric All's blocking prowess is he was good. We had a limited sample size there. I think that the idea that Eric Hall was an all-world blocking tight end is perhaps overstated by some, really good on the move, really good off the line, but attached to the line of scrimmage, the tight end beside Drew Sample, who's not up on the ball, is able to go out there and get up to the second level, deal with secondary defenders in the box. And I think Noah Fan can do those things.

I think the Bengals probably see Noah Fant and his skill set and his build as a guy that can do a lot of what Eric Call did for the last year. Maybe not all of it or maybe it's not even a lot. Maybe it's half of what Eric called did. I think it's some. I think it's a least some. And you're right. He's not the receiver or blocker than Mike Keseki is. He's a better blocker because you can actually put him in line.

He's not good, but he's like, he's not a wide receiver. You know what I mean? Correct. You can put him there. He's not your big slot, but can split out. And he's better after the catch than Gaseki is, I think. Like he's going to make more guys miss. They used him a lot in the screen game in Seattle.

So where he's not quite Mike Gaseki as a receiver the way you would use him. He's not a big slot, but he's also not Mike Gaseki in terms of how you would have to use him as a blocker. He gives you something in between Eric Hall and Mike Gaseki, which to me is a very versatile piece that this offense could use. Now, would I like if the Bengals signed a guard? Of course I would. But the Bengals having interest in Noah Fant, like, if Noah Fant wasn't visiting on Thursday, that doesn't mean that magically a guard would be visiting on Thursday. Like, that's unfortunately not how it works.

They're not, you know, doing Fant instead of a guard. They just don't think they need one. And while you're right to criticize them about that, if you're out there listening to me talk about this, you're like, yeah, but they really need a guard. Why aren't they getting a guard? That's a fair criticism that I think we both agree with, James. Don't take that out on Noah Fan. I think Noah Fan would make the team better if they get the deal done.

That being said, don't be surprised at all if he takes multiple visits, if they don't get a deal done. I think that they're interested, but I think that there is a market for Noah Fan. I think there are probably a few teams interested in the services. Yeah, a couple things. One, totally agree with the visit part. They're probably going to offer him like $2 million, take it or leave it type thing. And I hate that, but that's probably the reality. Two, you're right, Noah Fant isn't getting in the way of anyone, but it's really simple.

Do you want Noah fan out there, Tanner Hudson? I'm just... That wasn't rhetorical. I think that no does more for you than Hudson. I think the one argument there is special teams value. And so, like, if you cut Hudson, you need someone else to do his role on special teams because I don't think Fant is doing that. Fant is too big a part of the offense.

Sure. Which is a good thing. I'm not saying that's like a good problem to have. No doubt. And it was rhetorical. I get it. It's a no-brainer. By the way, Hudson wears 87 and so does Noah Fant. So it's like really like who's going to win this battle. Right. No, I think it makes them better. It also gets Drew sample off the field a little bit. You'd hope maybe a little bit. Like even if it's like two or three snaps that go to Fant instead of sample. Like if you feel that way, like what does that do then? Oh, well, that gives you another guy that can win as a pass catcher on the field. Like, of course you do that. And so I think you, sorry, I think you get to the point similar to what they did with Eric Hall where you have all sample packages and they had they had all sample packages. They also had all Gaseki packages.

I think you can run both of those guys out there and it gives you that flexibility with your two tight end sets and three tight ends. And so, but let's just say it's four more four more plays a game where Joe Burrow now has Gisicki and Fantt. Like that matters. That stresses a defense differently than sample. someone that you're just not, you don't have to stress about at all. And, and that's it. That doesn't mean Sample won't have a role. Of course he will. But it just, it changes the dynamic a little bit. And I, I hope they get up. I think back, I, he, this went viral. Wait, well, back in 2022, Noah Fant during the, he was 22 or 2023. Yeah, one of it. Yeah, it must be 22. It was, it was

22 because it was the one the Bengals won to get to Super Bowl 56. And Fant just praising Joe Burrell. I'm pulling up the tweet now. But it clearly believes in Joe Burrow. He said, he quoted Joe Burr, Joe Shisty, Joe Mama, whatever you call him, he's the real deal. And that was as the Bengals were rallying past the Chiefs to advance the Super Bowl 56. And so you have that. You have Joe's history with these tight ends. Like there's a huge appeal here. And so, Oh, and the other element, I don't know this, haven't talked to Zach Taylor about Noah fan. I bet Zach Taylor really likes Noah fan as a football player, just knowing what I know about how Zach Taylor views things.

So I hope they get it done because if they don't get it done, the reason they might not have gotten it done, it was going to be because of like money, front office, structure, whatever. And I just, there's enough of that. So hopefully they just get it done. More than enough of that. I think I think everyone's sick of that stuff. But like they have so much cap space right now. Some of that probably.

It's not going to get in the way of any. It should not be an obstacle. It's not an obstacle. Just go sign players that are going to make you better. And that includes trying. And that includes getting it done with Shamar. And that's not just blaming the front office for that to be clear. But we're not going to spend time on that today.

It's just like it extends to Noah Phant as well because I do think that's a move that makes a team better. I do think a guard can make the team better. We've talked a lot about safety as well. They have the tight end in the building, though, and he does offer them something they don't have on the roster, something that they lost with Erichol. And apparently some people are not up to date with Eric.

Al-A-Call isn't playing this season in case you missed that memo at some point. I guess anyone listening until the 29-minute mark of Locktown Bengals probably knows that, but he gives them something they don't have in that room, which is why it's an appealing potential move for this offense. and gives them something that they don't have. I think it will make them better, even if it's not like a world beater, I think it can make them better. And Cadell help, no offense, land that big post-borough tight-end contract,

like you alluded to, that so many tight-ends that have come through Cincinnati have landed after playing in this offense for a year. Yeah. The plan right now is to come back and give you a bonus episode here as the Bengals are practicing on Friday. That plan changes. We'll let you know on social media, but until then,

thanks for listening to this episode of the Lockdown Bengals podcast, Hootay, and have a good one.