Locked On Bengals - Daily Podcast On The Cincinnati Bengals - BENGALS SQUAD SHOW: Will Joe Burrow's FRUSTRATION BOIL OVER if Bengals don't WIN in 2026?

Episode Date: February 13, 2026

Four years ago today, the Bengals played in Super Bowl LVI. It was an incredible high for the franchise, that has mostly been perceived as a losing franchise through their first nearly six decades of existence. Unfortunately, that losing reputation is still prevalent four years later. Alex Frank, Mike Santagana, and Coach Art Valero reminisce on Super Bowl LVI four years ago and today, and what it all means for the Bengals' franchise quarterback in Joe Burrow. There's one angle to the Trey Hendrickson situation that's not being discussed enough, and it could play a role in a potential resolution. One positive from last season is the Bengals won two division games in prime time on short weeks. Alex, Mike, and Coach discuss how much confidence that should give Bengals fans and the confidence level in Zac Taylor and the coaching staff in division games. Finally, a conversation about Super Bowl LX MVP Kenneth Walker III and Bengals running back Chase Brown. Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! TurboTax For a limited time, you can have your taxes done by a local TurboTax expert for just $150 — all in, if a TurboTax expert didn’t file for you last year. Just file by February 28. Visit http://TurboTax.com/local to book your appointment today. FanDuel The Winter Games are on. And there’s no better way to follow them than with a bet on FanDuel. FanDuel - Play your game. Indeed Listeners of this show get a $75 Sponsored Job Credit to help give your job the premium placement it deserves at http://Indeed.com/lockedonnfl. 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.

Four years ago today, the Cincinnati Bengals played in the Super Bowl. Super Bowl 56. It was the highest of highs for an organization long associated with the losing perception. But unfortunately, that losing perception is bowed back in full force four years later. And Mike Santagina, a big worry is that if the losing that's taking place over the last three seasons continues, it may only be a matter of time before Joe Burrough's frustration boils over. Joe Barrow's a winner, and if they're not going to win, then it's going to keep building. Keep building, and it is a Joe Burrow-themed conversation that kicks off today's edition of the Bengals Squad show.

Today, it's the Bengals Squad, everything Cincinnati Bengals every week. Breaking down all the big hits and game-changing plays from the Queen City, the way only the Locked-on podcast network can. From the jungle to the playoffs, the Bengals Squad team. show starts now. It is Friday the 13th, 2026. Welcome to the Bengals Squad show. We are live on the lockdown Bengals YouTube channel and the lockdown podcast network. It's the number one sports podcast network in America and the world, your team every day for more on how to become a member of the newly established every day or club. You can visit lockdownpodcast.com slash every day or where you can

get among many things access to the members only discord. My name's Alex Frank. joined by Mike Santagina. You see his work at Bengals underscore Sands on Twitter and at Cincinnati Bengals Talk.com. Coach Ard-Fallara, 45-year coaching veteran and Super Bowl 37 champion with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. We got a great show for you today. As I mentioned in the open four years ago today,

the Bengals played in the Super Bowl. Super Bowl 56 out in LA against the Rams. It was an incredible time for the team, the organization, the city. Unfortunately, we all know, how that game played out. But coach, I'll turn to you.

When you have a, when you have a quarterback like Joe Burrow, who was as competitive and maniacal about winning a Super Bowl and about the game of football like Joe Burrow is, it should set the tone for the entire organization. The last three years and particularly four years since the fangles have played in the Super Bowl, they really have not built on it. Well, you know what?

That's one hungry tiger. And not only is that Tiger and the other guys that were a part of that football team, very, very hungry, the pride, the fans, they're hungry to get back because they want to establish who they are. They do. They absolutely do. And I think one thing that's interesting to me about Joe Burrow is he is incredibly confident in himself. he is, some people might say cocky, some people might say arrogant. But when we saw this team at its best in that 21 season, in that 22 season, there was just so much confidence radiating from that locker room. And Mike, I don't know about you, but I feel like we have not seen that Joe Burrow

over the last three years. I don't know. I push back. I think not this past year that we just saw where he was injured. but the year before, he felt confident to me. He felt like he know how good he was. He was throwing extremely confidently. So that's why I push back some.

But it is also hard to keep building confidence and stacking confidence when you're not winning enough, when you're not going to the playoffs. It's difficult. Art can speak to that more than me in the NFL have a losing season. It's sometimes hard to keep your confidence up. And confidence is something that I think goes under-discussed. with these teams is just having the confidence in your play style allows you to play fast, play strong.

You don't have second doubts. When you're confident what you're doing and your technique and your assignment, then you're going to play fast. And everybody wants to play fast and smart. So I think it is under discussed. But I would push back a little bit on just Burrow just because I think last year, not this year is injured, but where he threw for all those yards, all those touchdowns had an amazing season. He felt like a confident quarterback to me.

numbers-wise, he's definitely still been a really good quarterback since that year. But coach, I want to ask you, because you're new to the Bengals beat, even though it seems like you've been on this beat for quite some time. What do you remember about that Super Bowl between the Bengals and the Rams? And how do you view it now four years later? Well, you know what? The part that I remember about it was that just the work that it took for them to get there. you know and they kind of took everybody by shock uh that they were in it and it was like kind of

like what new england did this year you know it's like oh okay and then everybody started to pick them apart of why they shouldn't beat the rams because the rams were pretty loaded um you know and it came back down there there were there were minus in some areas and i can remember but they you know what they competed they went out there and had a blast and you're saying you know what This is a team, much like the Patriots, they're just saying it's going to be around for a while. They're kind of on a roll. Now they've got to build off of it.

Now they have to continue to add those pieces, be right in their selections, and shoot. This kid, speaking of number nine, he can lead you to where he wants to lead you and gives you the rope that you want as an organization. You just have to be able to keep feeding it. And I think that, you know what, he was young at that point in time. He's still relatively young.

I think the best is yet to come. I hope you're right. And I think you bring up a great point about the work that it took to get there because Joe Burrow, I think what might get lost in that Bengals run to the Super Bowl is Joe Borough was coming off a major knee injury. I mean, he had his knee basically reconstructed the previous year. And then 16, 14 months later, 15 months later, he's playing in the Super Bowl. He's playing for a chance to hoist the Lombardi Trophy. Like, that stuff matters.

And so you look at the Bengals road to that game. They were, you know, they finished in last place in the AFC North the year prior. They had a tougher schedule than a fourth place schedule should theoretically entail. They beat all these really good teams in the regular season. They overcome Tennessee in the divisional round of the playoffs. First road playoff won in franchise history. Then they beat the Chiefs down 18 points in the AFC championship. It was just so many things that went their way.

And then even in the Super Bowl, they were down 13, three early. Then they came back when T. Higgins ran in a touchdown on the first play of the second half. I literally said to myself, the Bengals are going to win the Super Bowl. It was a feeling I had never felt before. The Bengals were going to win the Super Bowl, and obviously we know what happened. But I think what's interesting is Joe Burrow and the fact that he had fun that season, he was competing, he was playing in meaningful games. But I remember something he did after the game.

Kurt Warner, Super Bowl 34 MVP, told Burrow to do this. It's like, even if your team doesn't win the Super Bowl, make sure you have fun and celebrate with your teammates afterwards at the after party. And Burrow did that. And I was like, okay, that's fine. But it leads me into this. I kind of want to see him get a little frustrated this offseason and during next season. Get a little angry.

if things are going as well as he thinks they should be. Do you guys agree? You know what? I don't think we'll ever see it. He's pretty reserved when it comes to what he says in public. And I think that behind the scenes, everybody will understand during OTAs and during Miningamp and going especially going.

I mean, he will continue to reiterate it all through camp. I'm pretty sure. And I think that, you know, from what it sounds like, some of those other veterans are going to be echoing his sentiments. And I think that that's what I thought at points this year, they didn't have leadership on the field. And I think it's going to force some of those leaders to take a step up. And, you know, sign their check, basically.

Mike? I felt like last year there was a little bit of frustration from him, for him, at least. He's not angry in the media. But he did a lot of media. Did a lot of campaigning to resign his guys and keep them around. I don't think he's done that so far this season, but you see it with Jamar Chase and some of these other guys where they're saying, we know what he's done. And then it's like, what he's done is it would be great to add Max Crosby, to add Jeff Simmons to add to this defense.

I think that's where everybody's heads probably are. Because if you go through another season and the defense is a bottom five defense by points, I don't, I mean, they're already frustrated. I don't know how you wouldn't be frustrated when you have what is, at least when Burroughs healthy, like a top five offense. And it just doesn't matter because the defense is given those points right back to who cares who it is. I mean, the Jets putting up that many points in the,

I think it was their season high, can't be doing that. That's what's going to be the most frustrating part of this, where you have the same issue year after year. So that's where I think if there's any frustration it would come. But I think the main frustration he's had has just been with how the Bengals do their contracts, not getting guys extended when they know they have to pay them anyway. It felt like last year that's where that was where he's campaigning for T. Higgins, campaigning for T. Hendon, campaigning for Mike Gaseki, Jamar Chase.

all these guys. I like the way you worded that just now, Mike, because Joe Burrow is not, and coach, you mentioned it, he's not going to be a guy that's raw, raw, that's boisterous, that's like maybe some other quarterbacks around the NFL and then other members of the Bengals team, Jamar Chase and T. Higgins, as you mentioned, Mike. But with Joe Burrow, I think a lot of the things that I've seen over the last two seasons, three seasons. I've seen a lot of sentimental feelings from him. I've seen a lot of self-reflection. And maybe, look, maybe he's having a quarter life crisis. I don't know. I mean, he's now 29

years old. He's going to be 30 come this December. So maybe that had something to do with it. But when the Bengals were at their best in 21 and 22, and then seemingly they looked like they were going to be that way again in 23 before Burrow got hurt. When they were at their best, when Joe Burrow was at his best, you saw Joe Burroughs say things like, you ever read anything about me being nervous. He says, it is us. He says, he said, let's just relax, take a deep breath after the O and two started in 22. He said, better send those refunds. It's like quotes like that. When you see Windows my whole career, when he says those quotes like that, that just, there's a genuine confidence level that you can see it and he feels it. The last two seasons,

I think ever since his wrist injury, and then they had the drama that was in the off season, in prior to 24 with Hendrickson and the not getting Chase sign, you lose to New England. And he's tried to continue to exude confidence. I give him a lot of props for that. And he's had some incredible performances. But it's not the same Joe Burrow that I saw just effortlessly ooze confidence in 21 and 22. I haven't seen that the last three seasons. And I just wonder if let's say this team gets off, let's say they lose in week one. Let's say they're three and four in the middle or late October. What happens then? Does he start speaking more?

Does he start being more vocal? Does he actually start having a more frustrated tone? That's the part that I wonder when it comes to Joe Burrow. You know what? I think that during the course of the season, as he starts to go, he understands that it's going to take the defense of while to be able to settle in and get their stuff done. So I think he's looking at as, hey, he and the offense have to do their job

and they might have to win some games on offense early. Now, once that team starts, to go to be through, you know, to be, you know, three and four or four and three or whatever, you know, at the midway point, hey, you're still, you still have 10 games to go. There's a long way. The key is you've got to just get into the tournament.

And if you can get out to a great fast start and win your division or to win your little conference, then so be it. You'll get, you'll have some. injuries, but they'll be able to come back by the time the end of the season comes around, and so where you're fully loaded. I don't think you'd find him being real voiceless and frustrated until probably about game 11, game 12 when it's there, now you just got to go out and do it. That's an interesting point there, Coach. I think it's really interesting because

yeah, I mean, I really don't have anything to add to that. Mike? I think you could see some frustration, but he doesn't feel like a guy that gets that frustrated to where it's going to be leaking. I mean, if he gets that frustrated, I assume it's going to end up similar to how some these other ones have where he's so frustrated, he just wants to leave. Like, I think that's when to become extremely obvious in public, just because he's not that vocal in the first place to the media. He said some stuff here and there, but he's not, you know, he's not the same type of guy that some of these other players are. I think what coach said is true. I think it would again for me be three years in a row of this, or four years maybe at this point,

where their backs against the wall, they have to win every game down a six-game stretch to make the playoffs. And then that's the frustrating part where you have to be perfect, right? And just like last year, they had to be perfect. They didn't do it. You lose like one or two games and you're no longer in the playoffs. Two years ago, they won all those games. They still didn't make the playoffs. So they had to be more than perfect.

They need other stuff to happen. I think if they're in a position week 12, like coach said, and you're, I don't know, five and seven or something. And now you're like, well, we're not going to get to the playoffs at nine and eight. Like look at all the, look at how good the wild card is right now. Look at the Ravens or whoever in the AFC North has a pretty good lead. So we've got to be perfect again for the last five games down this stretch. That's where I think the real frustration would start and then probably boil over if you lose

like a close game, kind of like they did this year to Buffalo. or you're like, that was a season. That was our best shot at making the playoffs. And now because we couldn't be what ends up being a division winner, a team that goes to the AFC divisional round again, a very talented quarterback couldn't beat them, then we're not in the playoffs. I think that's the frustrating part.

Like stop losing these games to teams early on in the season. I know they had injured quarterback this year. That's where the issue is where you lose the games to the Jets or the year before you're losing those games to the Steelers. And the Steelers made the playoffs, whatever. But the way they lost, of the most points in yards that the Cs had had since the, you know, Killer B era, whatever, when they had Levy on Bell, that's, that's frustrating.

And I could see why Burrow would be frustrated at that point if he has to, once again, be perfect down the stretch. I don't think it's going to happen at three and four. I think that would still be in the, let's relax stage. But when you get to seven losses and now it's like, I got to be perfect, that's the frustrating part. Coach, talk to me about. Just to add on to what Mike was talking about was, you know what?

I think we saw it this past season. You know, the first one to crack was Jamar Chase. He cracked. Then all of a sudden, a couple of weeks later, when they're still in it, they still have a chance, but they have to be perfect. Then all of a sudden they lose a couple, and then all of a sudden Joe comes out in, his frustration overboils, and it's like, okay, if I ain't having fun, why do this?

You know, and that thing got blown out. So I think the whole team is that way. It set the tone for that week when he came out and said that. And obviously it started up a lot of headlines. And obviously it was coming off that loss to Buffalo where Joe Burrow wasn't perfect. And the two mistakes he made ultimately cost the Bengals the game. It should not be that way. And coach, to your point, if you're sitting after week 12, if you're seven and four,

hey, we're right in this thing, man. Like we can start, you know, making like let's fine tune some things. but hey, we're right where we need to be. If you're sitting at 5 and 7 and you've got that, you know, that way on your shoulders that you've got to be perfect, you can't function at your best when you have to be perfect. Nobody can't. But when you're playing from ahead, hey, we got a cushion here. We got some breathing room.

Let's just continue to play our best football. Let's, you know, make some adjustments along the way and see where that can go. And you mentioned it with the tone that he said that week. Then you get to after the season and Joe Barrow said this is as big of an off season as it's going to get. He set the tone then. So clearly he's still singularly focused on winning the championship in Cincinnati. Up next, we're going to get to another player that has been in the headlines around Cincinnati. And there's one angle to the Trey Hendrickson saga.

It's not being talked about. It should be because it may ultimately be what keeps Hendrickson and Cincinnati. We'll get to that conversation next right here on the Bengals Squad Show. Today's edition of the Bengals Squad Show is brought to you by Fanduel. Right now, the winter 11th. Olympics are happening. They have been so fun to watch. And if you're anything like us, you're locking in for events you only get to see on the biggest stage every four years, like figure skating. And that's why following the winter games on Fan duel, it just makes

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Van Duel keeps the entire Olympic experience engaging from start to finish. The Winter Olympics are on. There's no better way to follow them than with Fandual. Fan Duel play your game. Mike, I didn't ask you this in the first segment, but I want to ask you, four years ago today,

what is your favorite memory from that Bengals Super Bowl experience? experience. You said the part where you thought they'd win was the T. against touchdown. And that was up there for me. But I think it was the next drive. Chidobe Ouzier catches an interception off of, I think it was Van

Jefferson's hands. That's when I thought they were going to win because they're about to move to a two-score lead. And then they went three and out or whatever it was and didn't even get a field goal. And then it's like, oh, no, they're right back in it. And it's not where you don't have the two-score lead going into the fourth quarter. That was, I think, the biggest failure. and it was the moment I felt the closest to the Bengals winning.

Because when Teagan scored, I thought, eh, it's early in the third quarter. It's great to get this lead. But the Rams could go and score back. But yeah, I think it was the Chiodo Bay Ouzier interception. The lowest point, I think, yes, there's the Logan Wilson holding penalty, by the way. I know he didn't ask. But on the touchdown play, I think it was the touchdown play, where the Bengals lined up and I saw credit to him.

He had a great postseason. season. He was a fun bangle. Eli Apple lined up over Cooper Cup, who just won the Triple Crown, and it was one-on-one. Saw no safety coming over. I immediately knew what was happening. And that's what happened. He scored a touchdown. But I knew what I looked at. I was like, no help, call time out, get a WUCA over there. Like, we can't have this matchup to sign the Super Bowl. Boy, was Cooper Cup good on that last drive? I even had a fourth and one run conversion, if you want to take it that far. Look, it was a fun time. It's probably the most fun I've ever had as a sports fan, but the devastation of the way it ended. And of course, I think a lot of us, including me,

were thinking, okay, the Bengals are going to be back. They clearly are modernized enough where they can be. They got the quarterback. They got all these playmakers. Unfortunately, the reality of falling right back into, I don't want to say irrelevance, but non-contention, that's what the Bengals are right now. Now, we're going to go back to a topic. And I know a lot of you are, sick of hearing about it. I get it. I quite frankly am too. But as I read more and more articles about the whole Trey Hendrickson saga, and I hear more reporters like Albert Breer and Jonathan Jones, and by the way, if you want to follow any national reporters, follow them. The one angle to Trey Henderson that I feel like is not being discussed enough is this. One, is there going to be a

willing trade partner for him at the combine. You better find it at the combine. Is there a team that's willing to partner with you in a trade? And two, is that said team ready to take on not just Trey Hendrickson, the player, but Trey Hendrickson, the employee of your football team. Okay. Tray Hendrickson was injured last year. He missed 10 games, and I don't even know if he was really that injured, to be honest with you. He's had drama surrounding his contract each the last two off seasons. He held out this entire off season. He created a distraction. He's extremely dug in in what he believes he deserves when it comes to his financial status. Is there a team out there that is going to want to deal with that? That's the major question. I think at this point in time,

is and what have they come to the front and are they going to approach you or do you have to go seek them and then what else are you going to get for that? And I know you're trying to get rid of 30 million and people are aware of that. And so they're going to try to see. They've witnessed all of this through the media and through the scuttlebutt within the league. You know, it definitely, both sides was a distraction and was the entire season. He doesn't seem like a bad character guy. He seems like when he's all in, he's all in. And he knows that at 30, what is he, 31?

Yeah. He knows the clock's ticking. He wants one last contract. It's not that first contract. It's not that second contract. He wants that third because that's going to give him, you know, generational wealth for he and his family. So yeah, no, hey, he's going to fight for it while he was still good.

So what's the next group going to do? Are they going to step to the front and say, we need this guy? You have to think that of all the 31 other teams, one of them has a need for pass rush, especially when you consider that the market for edge rushers this offseason may not be as great as it's been in recent years. Mike, where do you stand on this? Is there a team out there that you think could engage with the Bengals and trade talks for Trey Hendrickson? I think so. I think it really to me it might be even more about the Bengals than it is Trey Hendrickson where,

one, we know the Bengals are going to try to get, they want to win every trade. They want to win every negotiation. They don't like to make a compromise. They don't like to just take an even type of trade here. So they're going to want good compensation for Trey. They're not going to take, I'm not going to take your late third because I could get a late third from just letting him walk and getting a comp pick. They're going to want at least, I would think, a higher third round pick this season or maybe even a second. And two, to me, the Trey Henderson age factors in, I think, but I don't, I think teams are going to be, they're very willing to pay Trey Hendrickson and sign him.

trade is always going to be a little bit different because you have to give up that capital too. So I wonder if before free agency, we have to see, do the Bengals tag, Trey Hendrickson? Do teams believe that they will actually go through with keeping them on the tag too? Or you think they're going to try to trade them. They can't get anything they want. They just rescind the tag and let them go. That's the stuff I'm not sure on. But for just our team's interested in Trey Hendrickson, I would think so.

it's hard to find a guy who's he was the sack leader in 2024, 2025 he's injured and he's older. But you have a chance to get the guy who led the league in sacks. You could build a pass rush around this guy. The other players don't even have to be, they just have to fill roles. They don't need them to win their one-on-one opportunities nearly as much. Just contain, push the pocket so the quarterback can't escape and get there, but you don't have to dramatically win or anything. It's hard to find guys like Tray-Henrich. And I understand there's a little bit issues with the run defense.

I don't think he's like a terrible run defender. You can't just run right at him because otherwise the Bengals would have never had a good run defense with them. So I think for a team, I kind of understand Trayside. I've only had two contracts. And one was a rookie deal and I was a fourth round pick. The other one? Great deal. Great deal with the Bengals.

But they've kind of also held on. They keep holding on not wanting to give me a real extension and kind of force me into this situation where, yeah, I'm frustrated because I have a chance. to go make $30 million a year for whatever, three years. And instead, I keep getting forced to play on one-year deals for Cincinnati, where, and we saw it this year, he got injured. If he gets injured again, now he's probably not going to get that big deal that he could have got two years ago. He's outperformed his contract, both in New Orleans and here.

But I want to know from you guys, not just everything we've talked about so far, but his on-the-field antics, the fact that he sometimes has dumb penalties called against him, the fact that he's not very good against the run defense. And then you think about all the off-the-field issues, I don't think he's a great leader in the sense of, you know, a teammate leader. I think he's a good leader on the field with what he can do. I think he's a very nice man off the field. He's just not somebody that I personally, the more I see of this, want to rally behind. So I ask you guys, are you worried about his antics being something that might steer teams away from the Bengals when it comes to tagging and training him?

You know what? I've heard of worse. You know, I've heard and have seen character issues that, but when they get on the field, they're a whole different animal. And then once you get off the field, it's like, okay, the head coach has got him on a leash. And his leash is a little bit longer than some of those guys's leash. You know, so I wouldn't take that as much. You know, he carved his niche as maybe not perhaps a run stopper, but a pass. pass rusher. And so he can hardly wait to get the third down. You know, we had Simeon Rice in Tampa,

and Sim was dynamic pass rusher. He was okay, you know, much like, much like Trey in terms of the run game. But the other guys picked up for it. So, you know, I kind of see him in the same boat. Yeah. And I would further that with Coach, he didn't say Rice was a bad run defender. Like, He's not a guy you can just 100% target and just go every run right at this guy and we're going to get six yards of carry or something. He's not a terrible run defender. There's terrible run defenders don't end up playing that much. That's the real truth of this. Where Josh, Josh Usha, for the Patriots, he had some reps of the pass rush. You go, wow, but he was such a bad run defender that it's just wherever you put him on the field,

it's six yards. We just, you can't live like that. And you don't get into enough third and longs that that guy ends up mattering that much. So you have to be at least a decent run defender. I think on field, yeah, I've end off field issues. I've kind of with coached. I've seen worse. He averages, it looks like four penalties a year or so. I live with that. A penalty every four games, but I get 35 sacks over two seasons.

Yeah, I'll take that into consider. I mean, you're talking about off the field, like Lawrence Taylor off the field. There's some wild stories, and he's the greatest defensive player at all time. Yeah, well, Lawrence Taylor's in a different class than a lot of other players who have played in the NFL. I mean, I didn't think we'd be talking about Lawrence Taylor on this show. But anyway, I think the thing about Hendrickson is there is going to be a team out there that needs help at edge rusher. I mean, the L.A. Rams, why frankly, needed an edge rusher. You can look at a lot of teams in the playoffs, the Buffalo Bills.

I mean, they needed a closer when they were in Denver in the divisional round. You look at other teams, Chicago could use an edge rusher, you know, a guy coming off. I saw a report earlier this week that Trey Hendrickson could head to Chicago this offseason. and hey, keep him far away from the AFC north and the AFC, I'd be okay with that. And I do believe that there is going to be a team out there that has a need for him. But my big worry is, in addition to what we've been talking about, there may be teams that go,

let's have the Bengals deal with Trey Hendrickson. They made this bed with him in the situation. Let them sleep in it. Not us. We're good. I think those are the teams that already have a guy. You know, my first place I would look is find out who the best edge rushers that are out there that are up for free agency and I'd go get them because they're going to lose theirs. They're going to lose theirs and they better have somebody to be able to come in.

Now, can you renegotiate his deal? Yeah, you can. But they're the first step, you know. Las Vegas, I'm trying to think of where the L.A. Raiders. Oakland Raiders, back to LAA Raiders, where are they now? Raiders, you know, they're going to lose theirs. And so, you know what?

There's a great place to start. Atlanta, Baltimore? I got it. Atlanta just lost their best pass rusher to an off-the-field incident. But Baltimore, to me, is a terrifying one. I see Travers to go to Baltimore, and I immediately, I dread that Baltimore game more because the one thing you could always say about the Ravens' defense the past two years, not too worried about that pass rush.

No. Yeah, no, they're definitely not. But if you get an edge rusher to pair with that secondary of Kyle Hamilton and Marlon Humphrey, good night. I mean, they had that in Namdi Matabike. They had it in Kyle Van Nuoy. I mean, they, yeah, when their pass rush is good, that just makes their defense a whole lot better. Up next, speaking of the Ravens, it just contribute, they do contribute rather,

to one positive from the 2025 season that's, I think, underappreciated. We'll get into that conversation next right here on the Bengal squad show. Today's edition of the Bengal squad show was brought to you by Indeed. So, if you have ever hired someone who looked good on paper but wasn't the right fit, you know how important that is. When you want candidates to truly match what you're looking for, trust Indeed sponsor jobs. Hiring, Indeed, is all you need. Stop struggling to get your job posts seen on other sites. Indeed, sponsored jobs, put your post at the top of the page and help you reach the right. candidates faster. So let's say I needed to hire someone for this show. We got a great squad as it is,

but let's say we need, we wanted someone else to join us. I'd go straight to the Indeed, and be very specific about what we need. Real experience, passion, enthusiasm. I don't want just a resume buzzword. Instead of struggling to get your job post seen, Indeed, sponsored jobs helps your listing stand out and reach quality candidates faster. Sponsored jobs boost your post to the people who are the best match for your role, and that makes a real difference. According to Indeed data, sponsored jobs posted directly on Indeed are 90% more likely to report a hire than non-sponsored jobs. Spend more time interviewing candidates who check all your boxes with less stress, less time, and more results using IndeedSponsor jobs. Listeners with the Bengalsquatch Show get a $75 sponsor job credit to help your job, give your job the premium placement it deserves at Indeed.com slash locked on NFL.

Just go to Indeed.com slash locked on NFL right now and support the show by saying you heard about Indeed on the Bengals Squad show and the Bengals Squad Show and the Bengals Squad show podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Hiring, do it the right way with Indeed. Two bright moments from the 2025 season were when the Bengals beat the Steelers on Thursday night football in mid-October with Joe Flacco. and Joe Flacco became an instant fan favorite, not just because of that game, but because of everything he did for this city. And at the time, the Bengals were right back in playoff contention. You're thinking, all right, they're right in this thing.

Burrough's going to get healthy, hopefully. And then a month later, Joe Borough does come back. They win in Baltimore on Thanksgiving. So you beat two AFC North teams in primetime, and you do them on short weeks. That stuff matters. Oh, yeah, it does. You know what?

I mean, especially at that time of the year when they came. You know, they came at, you know, right in the middle when there's no buys, even close. And guys are beat up. They're banged up. And, you know, it's the way you practice and the way that they prepared. And they went out and played well. And they were. And they came out and shined and gave you an unbelievable amount of hope for the rest of the year.

Yeah. And that's what they did. because you're so right. Like I remember the three of us were on the postgame show Thanksgiving night, Black Friday morning after the Ravens game. We were giddy. We were all hopeful like, hey, this team might actually have a chance. This team might actually have a chance to get right back in this thing.

That's what those wins do for you when you win a game on the road in prime time that's viewed by 25, 30 million people. Yeah, it built the confidence back up. But it is, again, one of those things where we also, I think, noted pretty much got to be perfect after that, but there is a chance. And we did not think for a long time that there was going to be a chance. I think especially you lose those last two games with Flacko. You kind of think that. That might have been it. It was fun. I remember that. And then when they lost the Patriots, it was fun, but they got to be perfect from here on out. Then they do win in a convincing fashion against the Ravens. It does make you buy in. And maybe on paper they were

the best team of the AFC North, that maybe they're, at least, you know, they lost to the Steelers, they lost to the Ravens, they split with what, both those teams. So you could make the case that they were the best team in the AFC North, but dropping those games early. It's what comes back to haunt them time and time again, because it's happened two years in a row where they had games they should win, lost them, then you lose one close game to a tough team down the stretch, and suddenly you're out of the playoffs. Coach, talk to me about what winning on the road in the division can do for a team? Oh, well, the first thing is,

is the travel isn't as far. All right, so that part of it's great. Then when you have a chance to win and you know you have the upper hand, I mean, those are big wins and the preparation into them because of the rivalries that you have with those teams, and you know you have to get by them to have a chance.

And the way that they went down and they played, you know, Pittsburgh and won. The defense wasn't challenged as much because you got to, I mean, really, Pittsburgh's offense wasn't that great and that explosive? And then when they went down on Thanksgiving and they beat a beat up Lamar and they actually put it on television that they could play and hang, you knew it was great. And then all of a sudden you look down the stretch and they get. got beat by a couple of bad plays against Buffalo.

So they're capable of getting up for games. And then you see, on the other hand, the Cleveland game, at the end, some of the other ones are going, well, they really don't. Their character meter was a little bit low because how do you let them hang around? Yeah. You know, how do you even let them hang around when you're a better team than they are, really? Mike, do you echo coach's confidence that the Bengals not only can get up for these games, division games in prime time, but they can win these games.

There are 500 in the division the last two seasons. Yeah, I think so. If you're showing that you can win them, right? You're showing that not only can you win them, and sometimes you're winning them in convincing fashion, then sometimes you're losing in convincing fashion. So they can get up, they can play these games, they can win these games, they can win these games, but again, it's another thing of consistency where can you not just go, I think 500 is good, but if you want to win the division, can you get above 500 in the division?

Can you sweep one of the Steelers or the Ravens rather than always splitting with them? And this year, sweep the Browns instead of splitting with them when you're the better team, but it was a week 18 game, so I was also kind of, they won the important one. This was a game that didn't really matter too much. So, yeah, I think they've shown that they could do this. They've shown that they are right there with the rest of the AFC North, but they just haven't had the same level of consistency. They haven't.

But I think last year, what most impressed me wasn't just that their skill players against Pittsburgh and Baltimore in primetime balled out. It was the fact that their offensive line was a difference in both of those games. The fact that they were able to run the football in both of those games who chased Brown, that was the difference. So in the AFC North, which historically has been built on running the football and defense, the Bengals have shown they can compete with that. They can score a lot of points in AFC North games.

But now it's like, as you're saying, Mike, can they just take that next step? Can they get over 500 in the division? Can they steal a game on the road at Pittsburgh? Can they steal another game at Baltimore this year, whenever that game is? Can you sweep the Cleveland Browns, who you really should sweep every season? You should have and you should have this season. And that's where this team needs to take that next step. But at least what we saw last year is that you can have, I mean, think about where we were on Thanksgiving night, Black Friday morning.

The Bengals, yeah, were four and eight. And after all the whatever they've been through, they were three and one in the division. So they have shown they can compete in one of the NFL's toughest and best divisions. That matters. Oh, yeah, it does. It does. And you know what? You were still excited about it.

It's like, come on. let's look at the future games. Okay, we got a chance. We got a chance. We got to be perfect. But at least we have a chance to win. The importance of division games can't be overstated. Coach, I'm sure you talked to,

I'm sure John Gruden talked about it, Pete Carroll talked about it. The importance of division games can't be overstated because the easiest path to the NFL playoffs is to win your division. Well, you've got to go through the teams you're competing against with to win the division. And they count twice, you play them twice.

They know you as well as you know them, as well as any teams that you know in the NFL. And so it's a matter of how you can get that extra tiniest advantage to win those nip-and-tuck games. That's why they're so important. And the Bengals, to their credit, have been a lot better in him the last two years. Well, you know what? It comes in. And that's where your veteran leadership comes in. because if you're new to the team, and yeah, you know they're in your league,

but, you know, somebody explain why the dislike the disdain for these people, what they stand for, who they are, what they're all about, then that builds up that history where those young kids realize, oh, she's, okay, I got to bring it. And I got to bring it often against these guys. and one of them looks like they did. One of them, they got the other team got the upper hand on it. Mike, is there anything that worries about you when the Bengals go up against the Browns,

the Steelers, and or the Ravens? Like, is there still one thing about each team? I think we know with the Browns, what it is. But is there still something that worries you when the Bengals go up against the FACC North opponents? Yeah, I think the Browns defense in general has played the Bengals well. We'll see how much of an impact. Schwartz made since they won't have him this year. Obviously, you still have Miles Garrett.

You still have Denzel Ward. For the Ravens, you're obviously, I think that one's obvious, too. It's just Lamar. And does Lamar do enough that it makes you, that he just does just a little bit more than you do? Or keeps up with Joe Burrow and now you've got to rely on some of the other parts. You don't have the quarterback advantage in this game. I'm not saying that. Lamar's better and Joe, I'm just saying in a game, like when they lost 24 to zero this year. I would say Lamar was the better quarterback in that game. And the Bengals don't end up in matchups very often where the other team's quarterback can keep up with their quarterback.

And then with the Steelers, you have to have some concern. They keep winning the AFC North. It does feel like on paper the team that's like, come on. You should beat this team. You have the advantage. but they find ways to win. I think that goes to coaches credit where they just have the veteran leadership. You talk about how old their defense is,

but their defense also has those leaders, those Cam Haywards, T.J. Watson, whoever else of the world, that line them up, Jalen Ramsey, get them into these close games, and they can squeeze them out. On the other side, you had Aaron Rogers and some more vets. So it's an old team that knows how to win football games. I think that's the biggest concern with the Steelers. They pull out games every year against all these different teams that they may not have played better throughout the course of the game, but they won because they were able to do everything that mattered when it mattered.

There obviously are a lot of qualities that each the three teams have that concerns me. Miles Garrett on the Browns, the Ravens with Lamar Jackson, his crazy playmaking abilities. The Steelers just because they always seem to be right there. I don't know what it is about that. But this is the year to where Mike, you mentioned the Bengals take that next step. Why? Because you kept more familiarity than any other team in the division. You didn't change head coaches.

You don't have to change your quarterback. You're not in a situation where you don't even know who your quarterback is. You have Joe Borough. You know what you have in him. Now is the time to go out there and take that next step against teams. that I don't necessarily know what to think about them this season. And that's where it goes back to that there's no excuse not to compete and contend in 2026 in a division where you have an early head start on the other three teams in it.

And that absolutely matters. Head start, yes. Final decision? No, because after about five, they're all part of it. It's just like a rookie. He's a rookie, but if he's playing the first. five games, he's no longer a rookie. He is a veteran and needs to start to play like a veteran. And just like these new staffs that are coming in, it's going to take them some time.

It's probably going to take them all at camp in about five games to see what they have and what their identities are. And then boom, they're going to go just like Seattle did, just like New England did, just like all those other teams. Yeah. I mean, and look, you can quickly develop with new staves. I mean, we've seen the two teams in the Super Bowl this year, do it? We saw Philadelphia. I mean, with Nick Siriani, they were in the Super Bowl two years in, and they were in another Super Bowl just two years ago.

So you can quickly adapt. I mean, look at what the Buccaneers did with Bruce Ariens. And Tom Brady comes in and they changed their roster and they win the Super Bowl. So it can't happen very quickly. But again, if you're the Bengals, you have to do the things that prevent that from happening so you can lock down this division in 2026. Up next, he won Super Bowl 60 MVP. Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker the third. So what does that mean for Bengals running back Chase Brown?

That conversation plus the NFLPA report cards are out. And even though they're going away next year, it's still a startling reality when it comes to the Cincinnati Bengals. We'll get into that conversation next right here on the. the Bengals squad show. Back after a quick time out here on the Bengals show, it is part of Locked on Bengals, the daily podcast on the Cincinnati Bengals, Bengals Squad, the twice a week long form conversational supplement to

lockdown Bengals. We are twice a week, one hour long each week during the regular season, post season, and the off season, basically all year round. This is off season show, I believe it is off season show number 14. So we are rolling right along. We've got some more fun stuff planned coming. up. The NFL draft is just over two months away, but we got to talk about, Micah, I know you haven't been on since Super Bowl 60. What was kind of your reaction to the game

itself from a 30,000-foot view? The Seahawks just decimated the New England Patriots, 29 to 13. Buck kicking. No, no, pretty quick. Yeah. Right. I mean, it felt like, oh, boy, when I saw how the Patriots offense was moving, I don't think the, I don't think Tim Darter played, like, insanely well, but did enough. I saw Kenneth Walker is able to rip some of these runs off. And Kenneth Walker, to me, was locked in, like making some really great reads, making some really great runs, making guys miss. He was the best player on the field when the Seahawks offense was on the field better. Him and Christian Gonzalez. Christian Gonzalez for a losing player, I was like on a team

that got their butt kick too. He made some plays. That game should have been worse, where he breaks up that deep ball, full extension to make that pass break up. And I think yet another one where it's just, man, he's saving touchdowns and they're still getting killed. But it was really when I saw the Patriots offense go out there. And it just felt so hard for them to do anything. And you see the protection schemes getting beat. You see their early their top five pick, left tackles, kind of getting beat like a drum too. And then where I think I got to the point where I was like, ah, this game's really not going their way.

when Will Campbell false started and then Uchena Nwosu, I think would be the Seahawks third edge rusher, just knocks him flat on his back. I was thinking, man, he's so nervous about the Nwosu getoff that he's false starting and then also just getting physically manhandled too. It's hard to win games when that's going on for you. But yeah, it was the Patriots offense and felt like Drake May had his worst performance where that could have been a game where I think narrative-wise, good thing he didn't win regular season MVP, because everybody watching that game were like, we just saw Stafford do a great job against this defense.

This is what we're getting from Drake May in comparison, who beats him for MVP. But yeah, that game was a butt kicking. I think it was about over at halftime. I was going to be surprised if anything happened. I missed out. I did make a $1 bet to win 100, and I missed out because Hunter Henry was one. catch short. So that's what kept me going through the game where I thought that bet was done. He had zero catches through like three quarters. And then Garbage Time Patriots offense is Hunter Henry.

Hunter Henry. I was cheering him on. You can direct all your complaints to New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels because he did not call for Hunter Henry, nor did he call enough screens to Trayon Henderson or Ramon-Drey Stevenson. But let's talk about Kenneth Walker because he had over 130 yards rushing Super Bowl 60 MVP. He was my pick, to win MVP or at least be that kind of unsung hero on offense to carry the Seahawks, which he did. So what does it say about Chase Brown? And you saw what Walker did. Do we feel confident in the Bengals and their ability to run the football with Chase Brown as their RB1?

I think he's going to get you what you need. I don't know if he's in that class yet from what we saw during the Super Bowl and during the playoffs as well. I mean, he can capture the edge in a hurry. I'm talking about Walker. But I think he's a good, reliable back. I think he's worthy of being able to say, okay, if these are featured back, giving the ball, let him get the ball out of the backfield. I think he's all around where Walker does a great job of running the football.

He had some protection issues, but I think most of them, we're going to. You know, that's probably the least amount of time that's spent at practice is working on protection part of it when it should be one third of it. And but I think that Kenneth Walker certainly as a free agent, he's going to be able to, people are going to be awfully hungry for somebody like that, especially with a good offensive line in front of him. So when it comes to Chase Brown, is he a guy.

that you guys think can be a 25 to 30 carries back kind of, that kind of running back? Or is he a running back where you're going to probably hand it off to him 15 to 20, maybe a little bit over that times per game because you're a past heavy offense? I don't think I see Chase Brown being able to do what Kenneth Walker did, to be honest, where I do see a more 15 to 20 touches type of guy. I think the issue for me is we saw Walker do that. And to me, the Seahawks passing offense wasn't really there. So he was the engine of the offense.

Do I think you can get to a game where Joe Burrow is not able to move the football, but we can hand it off to Chase Brown 25 to 30 times, like you're saying, and he can go be the engine of this offense. I don't think he has that in him. I'm not sure there's a ton of guys that do. I wasn't even sure Kenneth Walker did until that game. And then I'm watching, man, he's incredible in this game. So that's where I am.

I don't think he's yet shown that he's able to have that type of game. I actually, I think Joe Mixen was able to do that more. And I'm not trying to just say Joe Mixen was better or whatever. But I do think Joe Mixen was a guy you could give the ball to 25 times. You saw it in the Panthers game where he scores five touchdowns, where he could just be the edge of the office. Granted, Joe Burrow is playing well in that game. It's not like I have a lot of games to point to where Joe Burrow played terribly.

And Mixon took over. But he felt more like that guy. me, Chase Brown to me is a guy when the passing offense is working, he is a very good supplemental piece where he is doing stuff for your passing offense. He's able to keep you on schedule in the run game. It might break off an explosive here or there. But if things are going bad and they're going to fire off to they're going to defend the run. They're going to bring an extra guy into the box. The defense can be plus one in the box. And they're going to defend the run because they know you can't throw the ball right now. That's where I think, I'm not sure Chase Brown's going to give you

the same type of game Kenneth Walker just did. Yeah, I think there's only really one in the league, you know, and he happens to be in the same division. You know, he can carry 30, 35 times a game and just beat you up. Derek, Henry, can certainly do that. I think we saw Sequot might not be able to do that year to year, because it seemed like he was a little bit off this season. So it's not, it's not something people,

I think the NFL's gotten kind of got rid of a 30-plus touch guy per game. I mean, the Larry Johnson 500 type of, carries at a single season type of thing. They'd rather keep guys fresh. They do, but I also think what you saw from Kenneth Walker in the Super Bowl, what we saw from guys like Saquan Barclay last year, and Bejan Robinson, Jemir Gibbs, maybe not him to the extent that I've mentioned the other backs, but McCaffrey is another one, that you can't give them the ball to 25 to 30 times a

game. I think running the football is becoming, once again, a vital component to, teams winning championships. I mean, we saw teams like the Patriots do it with a committee running back in the early 2000s, and obviously Brady changed the way quarterback has played. But I think now we're starting to see that you have to be able to run the football to offset a great pass rush. And with this league, being a copycat league, it wouldn't surprise me to see other teams start to run the ball more. We saw that with the bills, excuse me, in 2024. and this past season.

You know, I don't know if the Bengals are going to do that with who they have a lot of money tied to in Borough Chase and Higgins. But if Chase Brown is not your bell cow running back, is that where you say, okay, maybe they go out and sign somebody in free agency who is, or better yet, maybe you draft someone who can't beat. Think you might know where I'm going with this. 10th overall pick on running back, people are going to be a little upset. Well, if there's great defensive players on the board, yes.

Let's shift gears a little bit here. The NFLPA report cards came out today, and, well, Coach, you sent me this. Let me briefly go over some of the highlights, or I guess I should say, the important notes from the NFLPA report cards. So the Bengals, and by the way, this is the last year to do in this. So the Bengals overall ranking is 24th out of 32 teams. Here's the opening. here's the overview. It says, in quote, the Cincinnati Bengals finished 24th, but to their credit, the club has made significant changes over the last two years. They rebuilt the team's training

room and locker room, and they increased the number of meals provided for their players during the week. They also hire people with whom the players enjoy working with. When asked what the team does best, the players consistently points the leadership of head coach Zach Taylor and mention the hardworking support staff. Now, here's where I run into some problems with this. It says there are still a few areas where the team lags behind the rest of the league. First, the players want to see continued improvements to the food program, including a full-time dietitian to maximize their training and an even greater number of meals provided for them at the facility. Another major concern, and this is the big one, is the lack of support for players' families. The Bengals are the only one

of three teams without a game day daycare, one of 10 without a family room, and the only team in the league to provide neither. They also score very low on the quality of the post-game family area and the number of family events the team organizes remains low. All right. Locker room, training room, great. They needed it. They got it done good for them. It's the little things that matter.

And we keep saying that on the field and off the field, taking care of your employees, taking care of your families. When you watch a team like the Seattle Seahawks and that organization, coach you and I were talking about this before the show, there is not one stone unturned when it comes to the atmosphere and the environment they create for the players and their families. And that stuff absolutely matters and it should matter here in Cincinnati. Oh, you know what? I tell you what, if your family's happy, they're enjoying it, you're going to be happy. And because you're there 10 hours a day, you're traveling with them, you're doing all those things.

and when you have special things, especially during the season, that they can come down, enjoy the facility, eat lunch with you, eat dinner with you, when they're in there. It means a lot.

It does mean quite a bit because you are investing so much time as a player and as coach and without your family. I mean, and you saw where, you know, even Matthew Stafford, he talked about, you know, all the great things that the Rams do

and allowing his kids to come down and enjoy it. Hey, you're a family man. And especially for those veterans that have families, they look forward to that. Mike, do you put a lot of stock into what this report card entails? I think the thing that's nice about seeing the report card is that the Bengals have actually made efforts to improve stuff where, I correct me if I'm wrong, but I think they were one of the worst, three worst. I think they were in the 30s, the first year I saw this. And then they upgrade the locker room. They take a part-time employee in the chef, turn him into a full-time employee,

and give him, you know, employee rights. You look at some of the other improvements they made that you mentioned. Now with this being private again, I wonder if they'll care. So that's where I am on it, where it felt like there was public pressure, and they actually did act on it and get better as an organization about how they treat their players. And now the most you're going to hear is just disgruntled like players' wife. Say like, oh, there's not even a family room there. And that just kind of goes like, that stinks in the moment.

And then you just kind of forget about it. Whereas when you get the report card, you see F on the treatment of family. That I think sticks out more because to a lot of fans, they might not really know, like, well, does everybody have a family room that they can wait in? or is this just an issue where the top teams have this, where you've got almost trillionaire owners compared to what the Bengals have with Mike Brown. But I like that they were able to put pressure onto the ownership

to make things better for their players and it kind of stinks that it's going away. And I don't really see a reason that it's going away. Besides, owners are embarrassed by how little they spend and treat their players. But on the other end, I also see, like, the chiefs at the bottom of this when they're on a dynasty run. So I'm not sure how much it actually matters.

It doesn't matter to make them happy and bring people in and stuff. But I'm not sure how much it 100% matters to winning where I think that just really comes down to the players you have. Well, you know what? A lot of times if you're treated first class, you're expected to play first class. And if you're given some great things around you, you feel obligated as a coach and as a player to say, hey, you know what? This is a great place to be. Now, a lot of the, it's really would, you can kind of skew it because veterans that have been other places, they treat their players better and have better facilities, might come in and say, whoa, this is really bad.

And guys that were drafted don't know any different. You know, they might have heard it, but they don't know any different. So it can kind of get skewed that way. to where you really don't know. Ownership got a C grade, 25th out of 32 teams. And here are the basic points that it made. It said owner Mike Brown's average rating for perceived willingness to invest in the facilities is 7.23 out of 10 from the Bengals players, ranking 24 out of 32 owners in the league.

The players feel that Brown slightly contributes to a positive team culture. That's 26 out of 32. And the players report their sense that Brown is somewhat consistent. committed to building a competitive team. That ranks 28th out of 32 NFL owners. You got to be better than that. Plain and simple, you got to be better than that. Now, the good news is they did get an A plus grade for the locker room,

B plus training room, A minus training staff, and Nick Crossgrade does a tremendous job in his staff. B for the wave room, A minus strength coaches, A minus team travel. There was a great article I read about that recently. A for the head coach, which is very important, C for ownership. You got some positives, but just. you got a lot of other things that you've got to be better at, especially in this era, where there is more of a national spotlight on you, and you don't want all these false

narratives that the national media loves to spin to keep becoming more and more prevalent. If you want to get rid of those things, be better in the little things and maybe win a Super Bowl. That'll change the perception of your entire organization. Something the Bengals came, oh, so close to doing four years ago this very day. next week we are back on Monday, President's Day and Thursday. Next week is a little different with our schedule. Monday and Thursday we work.

We are working on a guest for next Monday. Can't share many more details beyond that just yet. But if we confirm them, you will see it announced on my Twitter page at Frankie underscore Natty. Coach and I are back on Monday and Thursday, along with our other squad members here on Bengals squad. Don't forget that Bengals squad is the, twice a week long-in-form conversational supplement to lockdown Bengals, the daily podcast hosted by James

Rapine and Jake Lisco. Bengals Squad is the one-hour long-form conversational supplement two locked on Bengals. We are the number one podcast, Network in America and the world, your team every day if you want to become a member of the newly established everydayer club, visit lockdownpodcast.com slash every dayer. James and Jake are back with Lockdown Bengals next week. Thursday on the Bengals squad show, I can tell you this. We are going to discuss, and I am taking the page out of James Rapines' playbook about an intriguing prospect at number 10, that if he is the best player available, I'm taking him in a second.

We'll talk about that player on Thursday. I'm Alex Frankei, Frankie underscore 90. He's Mike Santagana at Bengals underscore Sands. He's coach, Art Fillero, 45-year coaching veteran and Super Bowl 37 champion with the Tampa Bay Buckingiers. Have a great weekend. Have a great Valentine's Day. Please stay safe with whatever you are doing. And have a great long weekend. We'll talk to you on Monday right here on the Bangal Squad Show.

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