Locked On Bengals - Daily Podcast On The Cincinnati Bengals - Dalton Risner leaves Bengals visit WITHOUT deal | Plus, re-watch notes on starting OL, alarm level on defense

Starting point is 00:00:00 Dalton Riser has not signed a deal with the Cincinnati Bengals since he's completed his visit and is expected to visit other teams. Let's break down what that means. You are Locked-on Bengals, your daily Cincinnati Bengals podcast. Part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. What up, Bengals fans, and welcome to another episode of the Lockdown Bengals podcast. Part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. I'm Jake Fliscoe. He's James Rapine, and we've been hosting the Lockdown Bengals podcast.

Starting point is 00:00:35 between the two of us since 2016. So if you're looking for a spot that will be there reliably for daily, up-to-date Cincinnati Bengals news and analysis, you are in the right place. You can hit that subscribe button on YouTube or wherever you get your podcast to join. All the everydayers out there, shout out to you if you're already in every dayer and make Locked-on Bengals your first listen. Today we dive into what happened with the Dalton-Risner visit, why that move would still make sense for the Cincinnati Bengals.

Starting point is 00:01:03 What's next for Dalton Reisner? on rewatch, what do we take away from what's going on with the defense? What about the offensive line that was under criticism for the way they played immediately after the game? We'll get to our rewatch takeaways and maybe some stock updates, stock up, stock down a little bit later in this episode. But James, let's start with Dalton Reisner, who reportedly is on his way to take visits, potentially with the Seattle Seahawks, Pittsburgh Steelers, and the mix for his services

Starting point is 00:01:29 after he did not come to terms with the Cincinnati Bengals while he was in town on Tuesday. Yeah, it's a bummer. It's frustrating. It's all of the above. Look, when you bring a guy like that in at this stage, and it's clearly your biggest weakness on offense, and I would argue your biggest weakness, because it's the thing that's really gotten in the way. Everyone's talking about the defense, defense, defense, defense, defense hasn't always gotten in the way. Guard has always gotten in the way of the Joe Burrow era. And so you have Reisner in town, and you're hoping to get a deal done. And maybe they, still do get a deal done. We just found out a few minutes ago that he's got other visits, which we can get to. But the expectation coming into today was, all right, well, if the medicals check out, perfect fit. He's a really good pass blocker. He's a veteran. He could come in. He could start. He's going to be able to practice with you for a few weeks, learn the system, get comfortable, and boom, be ready on September 7th. He visited the Bengals with 19 days to go until the regular season opener.

Starting point is 00:02:35 This isn't a no offense situation where you have a lot of time and he can still get acclimated and he can still be there for practice inside the stadium and miss the first preseason game but still be able to suit up and feel comfortable with the playbook.

Starting point is 00:02:50 Like, he needs to make a decision quick. And the Bengals need to make a decision quick. And I think there was a lot of hope, at least external hope, that they would have gotten this done, that Reisner would have wanted to commit today and that the Bengals would be able to get it done. Obviously, that didn't happen. Doesn't mean it won't happen. But it didn't happen today. And so now Reisner Watch,

Starting point is 00:03:12 2025 is officially here, Jake, let's go. James, you want to know why it didn't get done today? It's my fault. You see, what happened was, is I went and watched film of Dalton Reisner before he signed with the Cincinnati Bengals. And what I've learned was that when I watched the player before he signs the contract. He doesn't sign the contract and I end up having wasted my time. Look, Dalton Reiser would be an improvement to the Bengals' depth on the interior of the offensive line and I think an improvement in their pass protection if he won a starting

Starting point is 00:03:46 job. And I think he would probably in pretty short order win the right guard starting job. I think that's part of why they brought him in. I know they have injuries there and Lucas Patrick may be part of that as he appeared to have some sort of upper body injury in that Monday night football game that we do not have an update on yet. Hopefully we'll find out a little bit more this week, but he's dealt with injuries throughout his career. And when you add to that, the injuries that Cody Ford is dealing with, Cordow Volson is dealing with Matt Lee is dealing with Seth McLaughlin, who they haven't

Starting point is 00:04:15 gotten a really significant look at at all when you're talking about their interior offensive line options to the point where Jackson Kirkland was playing tackle on Monday night football. It makes a lot of sense for them to add Dalton Riser both as a depth move and as a move that potentially improves their starting lineup. I do think that he would be, and he has a track record of being a better pass blocker over time than Lucas Patrick. And we'll get to what I saw when we rewatch what we saw when we rewatch the offensive line. Lucas Patrick was not as bad as I think people thought he was on Monday night football. It doesn't mean he was great. I think Dalton Reiser is a better player. I think that maybe the PFF grades do slightly

Starting point is 00:04:52 overestimate how good he is. He's probably not an elite pass blocker. I think he's a good pass blocker. I think he's an above average or average pass blocker. And that's all we're really asking for at right guard. That's what we've been asking for since they signed Alex Kappa. And that's what Alex Kappa was. And then Alex Kappa no longer was that for the end of his time in Cincinnati. And the reason I bring up the PFF grades is because Riser's been in more favorable situations and schemes for guards to pass block in than what he would deal with. And Cincinnati asks a lot from its guards and from all of its offensive linemen in pass protection, I would not necessarily hold him to that number.

Starting point is 00:05:34 Say you wanted to be a 72 pass protection grade or whatever. If you really put a lot of stock into these grades, might be down a little bit if he does end up signing and playing with the Bengals. But the point is that it's disappointing to see him leave because, like you said, my expectation going into the visit is that it was pretty clear cut. Maybe he had these other visits planned ahead of time. I didn't hear anything about that until the Jeremy Fowler tweet.

Starting point is 00:05:58 that he had the visits planned with Seattle and potentially Pittsburgh as well. And a lot of people are pointing to the Jordan Schultz tweet that had language that was somewhat similar to the Noah Fant tweet when Noah Fatt left town. To me, these aren't necessarily the same situation. It sounds like there were disagreements over money between the Bengals and Dalton Reisner. And that is a little bit disappointing considering their situation at that spot. and the excitement that even an average guard would bring for fans and their expectations of this team. For sure. One, Reisner would start over Patrick and we'll get into Patrick.

Starting point is 00:06:39 Would 100% start over Patrick? The reason is different from the Noah Fant thing is I don't think Reisner is going to be in a position to take less. Noah Fant took less. Spoiler. I'll spoil. He took a little less to come to Cincinnati. And there were higher offers on the table. and he's got paid pretty handsomely when he signed that,

Starting point is 00:06:59 where he got that fifth year option and then he got that extension in Seattle. And so even though they cut him, you get some money there to work with. Reisner's number really had that. And so he's going to have to go searching for it. I don't blame him marketing himself this way. Makes a lot of sense. All three of the teams could use a guy like him,

Starting point is 00:07:18 right? You can't have enough guard depth. And I think that's it. I don't think that this was, oh, well, the Bengals feel so good about what Jalen Rivers did on Monday night that they don't want Dalton Reisner. And I've seen that and I agree. I don't think

Starting point is 00:07:31 that it's because they like what they saw on tape. Lucas Patrick might be injured right now. Yes. I don't think that it's that. No, Votion is injured. Yeah. And we don't know the severity of it, but he is. We'll hear from Zach on Wednesday and we'll be able to update you. But it is

Starting point is 00:07:46 it's one of those things where just because that happened with Noah Fant, most of the time when a guy leaves, he doesn't come back. And that is far more, that is way rarer than it feels because it just happened with Noah Fant. And it feels like it's a great fit and all of those things. It doesn't mean that that won't be the case. But he got out of the building.

Starting point is 00:08:09 And when you get out of the building and then you're going to go to Seattle and then if it goes to Pittsburgh, I mean, there's going to be Aaron Rogers there and D.K. Metcalf and Mike Tomlin. And I mean, they're going to try to shore up that interior. And Reisner could certainly help do that. So it's a tough one. It doesn't mean they won't get him. But the clock is also ticking 19 days from right now. If you're watching or listening to this on Wednesday, guess what?

Starting point is 00:08:36 18 days. Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick. It would be nice for Reisner to, you'd want to get him. Honestly, I'd want him on the sideline. He wouldn't play, of course, but you want him on the sideline by Saturday. So how do you do that? That would be my goal if I'm the Bengals. They're off Friday before the game.

Starting point is 00:08:53 you could get the deal done by then you got a couple of weeks to get him ready for the game game one so i think that's still realistic you can still do it but this week is the week to do it yeah hopefully it does still come together or they circle back on an option because we've talked about the options go back to last week maybe there's a trade and the offing as well i know people have talked about trades as well in the guard market so whether it's riser whether it's jack mason and whether it's somebody else, whether it's a trade. At least this shows that they're considering something, I guess. But hopefully this isn't their only effort because it took them until now to try literally anything else for the first time.

Starting point is 00:09:35 And it was promising and we'll see how it shakes out. But as of now, no deal. Riser taking visits with other teams and we'll just have to see how it shakes out. I do find it very curious, James, that Riser's been sitting out there for all this. time now suddenly Bengals, Seahawks, and a consideration to visit the Steelers as well. Out of nowhere, seemingly. Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing. And now suddenly three teams.

Starting point is 00:10:03 Hey, guess you know what happens? One, they come in bunches. You never know. Two, maybe he doesn't like training camp. He's like, I don't need to play that preseason ball. I'm going to show up and I'm going to ball out. You guys want to string me along with one and two year deals. I think he's only had a bunch of one year deals at this point.

Starting point is 00:10:20 Fine. then I'm going to show up in mid-late August, which I respect that as long as he makes plays on Sunday, assuming that he's in stripes, of course, assuming that's the case. But get something done. It would be nice if they did. We mentioned the rewatch. Let's get to the offensive line. Let's stick with the offensive line.

Starting point is 00:10:41 And then we can go to all the other stuff. We'll do that coming up next. Today's show is brought to you by Yahoo Fantasy. Yahoo fantasy is, well, what every football fan needs in their life. I've been a Yahoo fantasy player for years and years and years, long before Dalton Reisner was even known as an NFL player. And, well, I'm going to be playing again this year. And you can to celebrate over 28 years of fantasy football greatness.

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Starting point is 00:11:42 Fantasy. Stay tuned for more killer announcements and start playing Yahoo! Fantasy football now at Yahoo! fantasy.com slash locked on NFL. You mentioned Lucas Patrick, and it's funny on your rewatch that that's your takeaway, because I tweeted on Monday night. Because it, I mean, it, the, uh, the social media coverage, I would say of the, the Bengals offensive front right now is, is kind of, it's fun to watch.

Starting point is 00:12:09 I, I'm enjoying the, the takes. I'll say that. I respect the takes. But I called Patrick a lock. Like I, like, if he's healthy, I think he makes this roster. He's experienced. He's not making a lot. He can play a bunch of different positions.

Starting point is 00:12:26 I think he's making this team, even if he isn't a starter. And upon rewatch, you liked what you saw better than consensus, at least in the moment. Yeah, I mean, even our reaction after the game was like, good thing they're bringing in a guard. Didn't look very good for Joe Burrow back there taking hits. On rewatch, in my opinion, and I am loath. to blame Joe Burrow for things, but I am also beholden to the truth here. And that's the great equalizer that film gives us

Starting point is 00:12:58 is it gives us the opportunity to uncover like what actually happened on this play. Where do we think, and we're not in the room, so we're still guessing a little bit, but where do we think this actually went wrong? And I think that while Patrick wasn't perfect, he was mostly totally fine, totally serviceable. There's one play where Joe Burrow takes that sack back

Starting point is 00:13:17 on the two yard line that involves a defender splitting, Lucas Patrick and Amarious Mims. I'm 99% sure there's a looper there that Lucas Patrick has his eyes on. He doesn't get it passed off well enough. There's one other play, I think, where there's a late rusher who Lucas Patrick could have redirected and gotten into the blitzers alley a little bit quicker and taken some of the burden off of the running back, who I think was Todd Brooks on that play. But in pass protection, that's really it.

Starting point is 00:13:46 Like he wasn't a world beater. He's on an all pro. But he's totally fine. The issues they have with pressure, and Joe Burrow wasn't pressure much. I think it was like two pressures, maybe. And his snaps, maybe three. Let me see what PFF had it charted at.

Starting point is 00:14:00 PFF had it charted at two. Joe Burrow didn't handle pressure well last night, didn't find his escape lanes well, didn't have his normal complement of weapons on the field. So I don't know that he was like as in sync with what his receivers were doing on those plays. But didn't find his escape planes, well, didn't find his checkdowns well

Starting point is 00:14:19 on those two plays. that he was pressured. And so I think that a lot of the responsibility this time actually does go on Burrow when often I think Burrow is unfairly assigned responsibility for pressure. My rewatch of the offensive line showed that, yeah, they're not going to be world beaters in the run game. I think that nothing I've seen changes that. But in the passing game, I thought all of the starters, totally respectable from all of them,

Starting point is 00:14:43 including Orlando Brown, who I know some people weren't happy with because he was at the center of Joe Burrow getting horse-collared. Yeah, I think that the narratives versus the truth, it's really easy to get lost in it, especially in preseason when you're talking about such a big roster. And Lucas Patrick is a fine, and I'll say fine, offensive linemen to have on your roster. But especially in this system where you're going to drop back a ton and you're going to put a lot of pressure on your. your offensive lineman, you probably don't want him starting, especially with a line that's had its issues in the past. And that's it for me. I don't think that everything has been fair from a coverage is the wrong word, but a reaction to Lucas. But like, he's just this

Starting point is 00:15:45 freaking revolving door in front of Joe Burr. Like, I don't think that. I think he works really hard. I think he has a good attitude. I think he's someone that is going to fit well in that room, and he's versatile. And so there's a place for him. So it's good to reiterate that because, by the way, it's good that he showed that he could play and hold up because they're going to need him. Even if they signed Dalton Reisner, they're going to need Lucas Patrick at some point this season. That's why I caught him a lock.

Starting point is 00:16:18 Even if you don't agree with it, I don't even know how you think on it. But I think he's making the team because he can back up three spots on game day. And clearly they view him as one of their best options at guard right now. So assuming he's healthy, I think he's on the team. I don't know who else it is. Yeah. With the injury issues they've had, I'm expecting Cordell-Bolson is going to be out for some time. And maybe he gets good reports on the shoulder and it's not as bad as I fear it is for him.

Starting point is 00:16:45 But I'm not expecting for them to have Cordell-Voson anytime soon. Maybe I'm wrong. I don't know for sure. But given that injury, given the injuries they've had across that unit, the centers that haven't been able to rep at all, he's your backup center right now. You know, even if he's starting, he might be your backup center. They might move him over because I don't know who else is playing center right now,

Starting point is 00:17:05 given that we haven't seen much of Matt Lee, and we've barely seen Seth McLaughlin, and Andrew Rame is not sticking on this roster. So I do think that Lucas Patrick is on the team. Just to wrap up thoughts here on the offensive line, Amarius Mims, Dylan Fairt. I mentioned the one rep that the stunt that kind of split Mims and Patrick, they didn't have a great hand off there.

Starting point is 00:17:26 But outside of that, I thought Mims looked good. I thought Dillon Fairchild continued his strong preseason. And if those two guys are going to continue to play this way, you're in a better spot than you were last year because Ted Harris is still going to be Ted Karris and Orlando Brown still going to be Orlando Brown. Injury risk aside, really encouraged with what we've seen from Amarious Mims and Dylan Fairchild in this preseason. I thought it was nice to see Lucas Patrick play better in the second preseason game that he did in the first preseason game. That being said, if he's hurt again, that's a couple of injuries for him potentially that he's dealing with at this point. And he has a history of dealing with injuries throughout his career. And that, again, underscores the need for depth and why this Dalton Rise remove would make plenty of sense if it does indeed remain a possibility for the Bengals.

Starting point is 00:18:15 Yeah, I, because it fills that hole and you can look at that. the offensive line and be like, man, Fairchild might be a dude. Like, they might have gotten one. We don't know for sure yet, but they might have. They might have. And we know what Mims can be and is developing into. And so that would be awesome if you're like, all right, well, you look at that, that left side. And you have Dylan Fairchild and Orlando Brown Jr. on the right side, you'd have a Marius Mims who's ascending and then a proven guy in Dalton Wright. Reisner, a proven guy and Ted Karras, and then you have Lucas Patrick coming off the bench. You have Cody Ford, a guy the Bengals really like coming off the bench.

Starting point is 00:18:58 And it just feels just so much more well-rounded. So hopefully by the time people hear this or see this, Reisner has just shocked the world and signed with the Bengals because it would just, you'd feel much better about their depth, about how they could deploy these guys. And a big part of why you would is because of Fairchild, because of Mims and their development and how they've how they've fared thus far. And it's only August 19th, but it's a good sign. It does have to hold up for the regular season.

Starting point is 00:19:27 Preseason caveats apply to all of this, of course. But all we can talk about is what we have seen from those guys. I just, you know, just started out because you don't want to get too far ahead of yourself. Like nobody should be proclaiming Dylan Fairchild of Pro Bowl or just yet. We need to see how that goes. But it's been a very encouraging, very encouraging preseason for him. James, let's get to the defense, a lot of concern. You had him on your all pro list.

Starting point is 00:19:48 your preseason all Jake's all pro list at Dylan Fairchild on it. You know me. I care so much about the preseason that I am scouring the tape for preseason all pros. Let's get to the defense here, James. There are, I think, legitimate concerns

Starting point is 00:20:00 about what this unit has shown in the preseason so far. We'll wrap up the show there. Coming up next. Today's show is brought to you by game time. Have you ever decided at the last minute that you want to head to a ballgame? Well, downtown society's

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Starting point is 00:21:26 Last-minute tickets, lowest price, guaranteed. James, where is your, and I'll give you my takeaways in a minute here, as I rewatch the first half of the game. Where is your alarm level when you're thinking about this defense right now? Because it is preseason. Preseason caveats apply both ways. That cuts both ways, right? But on a scale of 1 to 10, how concerned?

Starting point is 00:21:51 not overly concerned in a big reason why is I've seen them at practice and I've seen them make plays and play with energy and play physical and play with an edge. And so that's what I'm more concerned about than anything. Like I like Zach Taylor, he said at both games now. Like, ah, we didn't put much out there. We didn't do much. We're not, we're not going to show a lot of what we're doing. And that's fine. But you know what that doesn't.

Starting point is 00:22:21 make an excuse for or doesn't dismiss the lack of energy. You were here when Jordan Battle screamed at Jamar Chase on the sideline. Like, you got to catch the ball. Are you there for that? Like talking trash? Yeah. Yeah, I thought you were here. So Jordan Battle's been talking trash all camp.

Starting point is 00:22:39 I even told Jordan walking out of the locker room one day, like, man, I love the edge you're playing with. Like, I love it. I just, shocker, I like to talk a little trash too. So I love it. I love that he's doing that. I love that he was attacking things. Come on, man.

Starting point is 00:22:54 That play, I've had multiple people bring up that play, multiple former NFL players bring up that play to me on Tuesday. That happened on Monday night with Jaden Daniels. And so that has nothing to do with not showing anything. That has everything to do with energy and effort. And I don't know why they're playing that way. I don't know. So some of this is like where's the edge that I see in practice every day?

Starting point is 00:23:21 and why have we not seen it? All the scheme stuff, it's really tough because I don't think they're showing everything. I do think they're holding back. I also don't want to dismiss three explosive runs that turn into touchdowns and turn into big plays on the other side. So it's a, I'm not pressing the panic button yet, but I'm not in a completely separate room from the panic button. I'm sure there's stuff they're not sure. I buy that. that does not excuse the issues they're having in run fits they have guys out of position

Starting point is 00:23:56 they have guys getting moved they have guys that are not doing their jobs in a way that allows these runs to be contained and is leading to explosives not just like oh it's a 10-yard run that's a failure for the defense but you can live to fight another down instead we're seeing these explosive runs and and that's what's concerning to me like maybe the corners or playing great in practice. And the reason we're not getting the energy, I would say, James, in these games, is that the defense hasn't done anything to be energized about

Starting point is 00:24:24 when the starters have been out there. They've just been getting beat. And it's tough to have energy and talk trash when you're out of position numerous times. And maybe it's Jordan Battle's fault. Maybe he's not Jordan Battle's fault, but he didn't look great to me on Monday night. He looked like he was out of position a few times.

Starting point is 00:24:42 And that doesn't, like, that's even, like, That issue with Jane Daniels on the goal line, I think he just overran the play, which is its own issue. But like there's other plays where it's like, well, who's not doing their job here? Maybe it's not Jordan Battle. Again, we're not in the room. We don't know exactly what's being coached there. But like the bottom four guys in PFF grades right now, whatever PFF grades are worth on the Bengals defense are Jordan Battle, T.J. Slate and Josh Newton and Demetrius Knight. Those guys are all going to have roles on this defense this year.

Starting point is 00:25:12 And Slayton, no tackle, small sample size, whatever. ever, okay, we'll see how he is in the regular season. Newton, again, 20 small sample size. We'll see how he is in the regular season. Night in battle? I have concerns right now. Limited sample size, sure. Looks like the game is moving fast for Demetrius Knight right now,

Starting point is 00:25:29 which is not where I thought he would be at this point. To the point where, like, I think there is a question as to whether or not that competition should open up for the starting linebacker spot. Should, not well. I don't know if it will. Al Golden has always had great things to say about Demetrius Knight. would never ask. But there's no other option at safety coming. And I don't know what's going on with Demetrius night in these games. Because by all accounts, he's making plays in practice.

Starting point is 00:25:56 You can't tackle in practice. You can't simulate the point of attack in practice the way it actually happens in games. And Washington has some good run blocking tight ends. But man, like some of that stuff, especially against Washington, especially where it's consecutive games for some of these guys, it does begin to get concerning about the way they're playing in the run game. And that's the one thing practice-wise that in an NFL practice, it's hard to judge the run game because they're not going to fully tackle. The running backs always just continue to run. And so it's tough.

Starting point is 00:26:29 But there have been some big holes for Chase Brown at times. Yep. Like the more I think, like when you were here, but even after that, there's been some where it gets blown dead because he's touched after 12 yards or whatever. But some of those, you might be off to the races. And we've seen that. And so, yeah, that is a theme.

Starting point is 00:26:51 I think, you're right. It's hard to play with energy and talk trash when you're, you're just getting gashed. And you just can't get, I mean, you can't force a third down on Monday night. That is embarrassing. And yet here we are. I mean, the first team defense hasn't forced a punt, hasn't gotten off the field without giving up points, it's unacceptable. And that would be if they were going against starters. But to go up against a bunch of backups, for the majority of that is rough as well. So

Starting point is 00:27:21 it's concerning, but it's also August 19th as we record this. So could it absolutely be who they are? Absolutely it could. And I'm not trying to defend it. But Stranger Things have happened. August 19th, Jamar's rookie year could catch. Yep. And then he has the best rookie season ever. Like Demetrius Knight has made plays in practice, but it looked a little, it's looked up more than a little rough. You know, there are people saying, oh, well, 55 is done. Logan Wilson's done.

Starting point is 00:27:51 I'm not going to say that right now. Now, if we get to week five and he's running a five-five and can't cover anyone, well, guess what? Then we're going to be saying it. I just, I don't want to over-judge, but I also don't want to under-judge either. And given last year, given their lack of activity, when it comes to bringing in proven talent on defense, because really you're talking T.J. Slayton,

Starting point is 00:28:17 and then a lot of the same faces and then rookies, don't be shocked if there's growing pains. And those growing pains could get in the way of the start that they're hoping and dreaming of. And we'll see how it shakes out in the regular season. BJ Hill will be playing. Hopefully they'll be fully healthy. And the one thing that I guess you could say is encouraging here

Starting point is 00:28:38 is that they are showing some signs of doubt. depth. Like there are some guys that were backups that played really well. And I'm going to, once again, I'm going to shout out the backup interior defensive lineman. I think Eric Gregory and I think Howard Cross both showed something. Howard Cross certainly showed improvement. We got a good look at Eric Gregory and his ability to make some plays. I think Tyson Anderson acquitted himself quite well, not just the interception, the past breakup as well. Pretty good. I think he played a little bit better than Desjohn Anthony. So perhaps showing that there's something in the cupboard at safety.

Starting point is 00:29:15 It was against backups. McKinley Jackson, not to be forgotten in the interior defensive line mix. And then I think the second string linebackers, Oren Burks, he did miss a play. There was one play that he, I'm sure, wants back, but I thought also did make some plays. And I remain impressed with Barrett Carter. And again, I don't know that the Bengals are opening up a linebacker competition.

Starting point is 00:29:41 or anything like that, but I would be considering it myself. I think that there's some very interesting competitions that are going to come down to this final preseason game, though, James. As I look at the 53-man roster, the back of the cornerback room, Braylon Lux, again showing up. Quite well, yep. Marco Wilson is a guy they like. Jalen Davis couldn't play.

Starting point is 00:30:03 And so I think the back of that corner room is going to be interesting. The back of the D.T. room is going to be interesting. And I think there's a competition on for linebacker five. Talked about Joe Giles Harris being one of the captains last night, playing a lot of special teams. I continue to lean to five linebackers. And I think that those are some of the spots that are true competitions right now on this roster with the door cracked open as well, obviously,

Starting point is 00:30:28 for potentially a fifth tight end if they want to go that route and go a little bit heavier on offense. Yeah, Cam Grandy, got to be dandy. I think he's going to have to really push it. but yeah but the linebackers it's they better be good i'll say that right they better be all the investment that's what i'm saying like you invest all this it would be like if they invested all this in guard and then they couldn't block anyone i had someone and i disagree with this it's a little bit too much but i had someone say like look if barrett carter's bad like that's

Starting point is 00:31:02 jackson carman and and they're totally different approaches to the game so in that sense that that's for that but sorry not barrett carter to meet truce night second round pick like comparing second round picks at non-premium positions that should be expected to step in and start that that's as far as the comparison goes totally different approaches of the game totally different attitudes and and character for those two guys so i think that that's a bit much but like i think there is a point there like if he doesn't turn it around and become a viable good starter and that's your second round pick and we were critical of the pick at the time that's not where you want to be so hopefully he turns it around and a hurt

Starting point is 00:31:36 Well, in the parallel is Tate Ratlidge was right there, right, versus Creed Humphrier and many of the other linemen that were available for Carmen. And yet, yeah, like Demetrius Knight is already better, just to be clear, like you said, already than Jackson Carmen. Like already. You're not going to have to convince me otherwise because I just, worst case, what is he? He's productive and he works really hard. And that's already light years ahead of what Carmen was at this day. I mean, Jackson Carmen as a rookie didn't want to work out with Joe Burrow. Put it that way.

Starting point is 00:32:11 I'm not going to go too far into it. I don't think I said that on the pod, but I'm fine saying it now. Who cares? It was five years ago. Can't burn those bridges. But yeah, who turns down Joe? Joe, by the way, if you want to work out, I'll come to the stadium right now and work out with you. But can you imagine, can you imagine doing that?

Starting point is 00:32:26 Not even a little bit. Would you fly back to Cincinnati to work out with Joe? You would. Sure. Yeah. I mean, like, get me in with the trainer before. get him to look at my shoulder look at that bice that send in this bugging me but my man was like no I'm good I'm already training and then he showed up overweight another stock up note just

Starting point is 00:32:47 before we get out of here obviously Charlie Jones we talked about those previously and we'll have plenty to talk about this week James got a couple practices we got a final preseason game we're going to have to look at some roster predictions at some point the cut down to 53 is not too far in the future at this point but let's wrap up up there that's going to do it for this episode of the lockdown bengals podcast until next time thanks for listening ho today and have a good one i hope they listen till the end

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