Locked On Bengals - Daily Podcast On The Cincinnati Bengals - HEALTHY LEADERSHIP: Bengals’ Ja'Marr Chase & Tee Higgins RETURN as 2026 Captains Are Revealed

Episode Date: September 7, 2026

The Cincinnati Bengals enter Week 1 riding high on health and leadership, with Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins back at practice and the team sporting a near-clean injury slate. Can Joe Burrow, Chase, an...d Higgins keep the offense’s elite pace alive?Jake Liscow and Joe Goodberry break down the Bengals’ 2026 captains, highlighting defensive newcomers Dexter Lawrence and Bryan Cook, DJ Turner’s rapid rise, and the vital role of team cohesion. Plus, injury updates, a look at the Bucs captains, and a reminder on the importance of health in the NFL.Photo Credits: Sam GreenEverydayer ClubThe improved Everydayer Club brings you access to ad-free audio, the Subtext insider club where you can text Jake and Joe and get Bengals updates in your text messages, and Joe Goodberry's members-only Discord with over 1000 other Bengals fans—all built for our most loyal fans. Click here to learn more: https://lockedonbengals.supercast.com/ Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!HomeChefFor a limited time, Home Chef is offering my listeners FIFTY PERCENT OFF and free shipping for your first box PLUS free dessert for life! Go to http://HomeChef.com/LOCKEDONNFL.  QuoTry QUO for free PLUS get 20% off your first 6 months when you go to http://Quo.com/LOCKEDONNFL.  IndeedListeners of this show get a $75 Sponsored Job Credit to help give your job the premium placement it deserves at http://Indeed.com/podcast.PrizePicksVisit https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONNFL and use code LOCKEDONNFL and get $150 if you win your first $5 lineup!OdooGreat organizations win because operations matter. And that’s why you should get Odoo. Try for free today at https://Odoo.com/lockedon. GustoTry Gusto today at http://gusto.com/LOCKEDONNFL, and get three months free when you run your first payroll. KALSHIFor a limited time,Download the Kalshi app and use code [LOCKEDON] to get $10 when you trade $10.GametimeToday's episode is brought to you by Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDON for $20 off your first purchase.FanDuelGet three hundred fifty dollars in Bonus Bets — GUARANTEED — when you bet five dollars every day for seven days. Join all the action at https://FANDUEL.COMFANDUEL 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.

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 Week one is upon us and the Bengals got a good bit of health news. Jamar Chase and T. Higgins back at practice as the Bengals prepare for the bucks on Monday. You are locked on Bengals, your daily Cincinnati Bengals podcast. Part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. What are Bengals fans and welcome to another episode of the Lockdown Bengals podcast. He's Joe Goodberry. I'm Jake. Let's go. We are Lockdown Bengals. It's week one. The Bengals are preparing to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for their opener of the season at Paycor Stadium on Sunday. And both of these teams look healthy.
Starting point is 00:00:44 We'll talk about what we learned as the Bengals took to the practice field on Monday for a rare Monday practice. Because once you get into that in-season schedule, Monday is a film day where Zach Taylor talks to media, but we don't get a practice. But before the season, we do. We also learned who the Bengals captains will be for 2026. and they're essentially as expected, Joe. If you were going to predict who the captains were going to be, you probably predicted more or less correctly. We'll talk about what did surprise us
Starting point is 00:01:15 and what stands out about the Bengals captains this year later in the episode. But we're going to start with the bit of injury news we got on Monday in an episode brought to you by Fandle where you can get $350 in bonus bets guarantee when you're five, when you bet $5 every day for seven days, joined all the action at vandal.com. And Joe, it was good news for the Bengals at practice. And it wasn't just Dee Higgins and Jemar Chase. Dax Hill continuing to practice as he has been a guy that we've been watching.
Starting point is 00:01:44 And Shamar Stewart was practicing once again. No brace on that knee. Sounds like things are pointing in the right direction for the Bengals for health before week one. Yeah, now it feels like we can say mission accomplished for rule number one or hope number one in the off season is always no injuries. well, there was some minor ones and there were some bumps along the way. And some backups went on IR right before the 53 man cut down. But largely, if you can keep your 22 starters, well, even extend that to like 26 because
Starting point is 00:02:14 of all the rotational players, if you can keep those guys healthy and ready to go for week one, that is a win for the Bengals. And that we can, that's the first win on the board. That counts for the total this season. But it is good news. And it's good news even for people that maybe aren't as high. on the Shamar Stewart train or what is potential because we see the comments, right? But it's good news to get a fourth defense event.
Starting point is 00:02:38 I made this argument the other day. I can't remember which episode it was, Jake, where I said, Shamar is still the best fourth defense event they've ever had in the borough era. This is still really quality depth and, I mean, high upside with a guy that's freakishly long and talented. You want that to be part of your rotation. And I'm excited to see how they can deploy him. We really didn't get to see if he got better, if he looks better.
Starting point is 00:02:59 It was day one of camp. and we don't get to see him again. So there'll be a lot of film review, I'm sure, on Shamar once he's back in action, but it looks like he will be. Tough test in week one for Shamar Stewart, assuming he's lining up at the edge against Tampa, where Tristan Wirst is, for my money, the best tackle in the NFL, especially in past protection. And that will be the challenge for the Bengals in general in week one, and Shamar Stewart.
Starting point is 00:03:21 I wanted to go back to T. Higgins and Jamar Chase. So this is a little bit that Charlie pointed out in Charlie's chalkboard, Charlie Goldsmith did a little write up on Dante Myers. and Colby Young and what they're learning from Jamar Chase and T. Higgins, who are two players that those guys can obviously model their games after, model their skill sets after. And the way the Bengals are more or less using those guys is as direct backups to Jamar Chase and to T. Higgins. But in that article, Charlie pointed out toward the end of the Bengals have a career record of 37 and 16 when
Starting point is 00:03:49 Joe Burrow, Jamar Chase, and T. Higgins have been fully healthy. So that excludes Joe Burrow playing through a calf strain in 2023 for a couple of games. So 37 and 16, that's a roughly 12 wins. pace over the course of a season. And Charlie points out that that includes losses where the Bengals scored 38, 38, 38, 38, 34, 33, and 31 points. So six losses where the Bengals scored 31 plus points. We've talked about what your expected record is in those situations. You normally win at least five out of those six, if not all six out of those six games.
Starting point is 00:04:24 I think the NFL in general, when they score 31 plus points, has a winning record or a win percentage of above 90%. in those games. So let's be generous and say that they lose one of those games and not reality, which is that their defense was so bad they lost all of those games. And then that gets you to 42 and 11. And that's roughly a 13, 13 and a half win pace. So when those guys are healthy, the reason that it's so important that we're monitoring even these small injuries
Starting point is 00:04:54 for T. Higgins and Jemar Chase, the Bengals are a 12, 13, 14 win football team. on offense, especially, and given our hopes for the defense this year, that should be what plays out if they are healthy. But health is such a big element of football, Joe, and we can't predict it so we don't spend a whole lot of time analyzing it. But every year, it's a good reminder for people who don't think about or haven't thought about it for a while, who have never thought about it, just how important it is to stay healthy in this league,
Starting point is 00:05:22 where the top five healthiest teams every year, the teams attend to make it deepest in the playoffs. That's exactly what I was going to bring up, right? the health of the offensive line is paramount to their success. The Bengals were pretty much healthy there last year other than, you know, a couple moments. But yeah, getting Burrow to be all, if you tell me I can have Burrow for all 17 games, I'm going to assume the offense is good. I'm going to assume this team is good. You tell me I get Burrow, Jamar, and T. Higgins for all 17.
Starting point is 00:05:51 We never really even gotten T for all 17. So if we could get that one time, I would hit the over on any number you can give me on any of these, If it's 10 and a half, 11, 11 and a half, I'm taking over on all those. I think the expectation, and it's why when we do these and we just did this on the last episode, right? And we go and we're like, what do we take the over on 11 wins was our final question. But, you know, I just predicted the schedule as well on my own socials. But why we do these and predict 12, 13, 14 wins if you're going on that extreme is because you can't predict injuries.
Starting point is 00:06:23 You're not going to say, you're not going to go into the year and say Lamar Jackson's going to get hurt because he's been hurt in two of the last three years. It's just not fair to do that. We're not just saying that from Bengals' perspective. So when we say that when these guys are healthy, they're elite, that is our expectation. And maybe I'm talking to some of the people on the internet that maybe aren't Bengals fans. And they wonder why the Bengals get so much hype or love in the offseason every year. And at this point, when you're listening to these season projections, it's because with these guys, they are good.
Starting point is 00:06:54 It's why the Bengals paid them. It's why they said, you know, you're not supposed to pay them. two receivers. Bengals said, yeah, we're not going to worry about that. We have two good players that complement each other really well that also amplify our quarterback and make him even better. And with them, we're one of the top offenses in the league and nobody wants to play against that trio. And to me, that's worth it. And that's fun. And it's worth the price of admission from being a fan as well. Like you want to go to these games to see these guys. So yeah, I'm not shocked by those numbers at all that the Bengals were that good with these three. And it's going to tie into a conversation
Starting point is 00:07:28 that we'll probably get to tomorrow, Joe, which is looking at this claim that the Bengals have never had an elite offense when Joe Burroughs a quarterback, which is maybe technically true by some definitions, I guess, if you look at EPA per play over the course of entire seasons,
Starting point is 00:07:44 which is generally what these claims are based in, is just what's the offense is EPA over an entire season, and we know that the Bengals have been a slow starting team. And so, yes, there's some selective endpoints here being applied, when you account for the slow starts, it's a bit of a different conversation.
Starting point is 00:08:03 And I think this all kind of fits together with this idea that, yeah, this offense is good enough to carry this team to 12, 13, 14 wins. And obviously postseason success. And it's just a matter of how they get there and what adjustments they can make for the first couple of weeks of the season. And so that is something that we will dig into a little bit more tomorrow. But today, Joe, let's talk about who some of these. captains are going to be for this team this year, the leadership of this team coming together
Starting point is 00:08:33 around new faces on defense and consistency, continuity on offense. The theme of the offseason, a microcosm of it exemplified here with the Bengals captains. We'll discuss that coming up next. With schedules getting busier and everyone getting back to their normal routines, figuring out what's for dinner can become a daily headache. Home Chef makes cooking simple with fresh food, deliver right to your door. Easy recipes to follow and meals that actually taste great. Weekly deliveries help eliminate the meal planning, grocery runs, and even a lot of the cleanup. Everyone's going back to school right now. I know some of you guys have been back for a couple of weeks. We are just now going back to school this week. And so everything feels jam-packed every day with
Starting point is 00:09:17 everyone coming home and leaving at different times. Everyone's not always sitting down for the same meal at the same time, preparing to make school lunches. It all makes it very difficult. But home chef helps with the ingredients and the recipes that you want and they're ready to go for you. And they plan out everything eliminating the stress for you and for me. For limited time, Home Chef is offering our listeners 50% off and free shipping for your first box plus free dessert for life. Go to homechef.com slash lockdown NFL. That's HomeCef.com slash lockdown NFL for 50% off your first box and free dessert for life.
Starting point is 00:09:55 Home Chef.com. com slash lockdown NFL must be an active subscriber to receive the free dessert. Support for today's episode also comes from Quo, spelled QUO, that's the business phone system built so you never miss a call. For businesses, every call is an opportunity, and missing one can mean missing a customer. You don't want that. Quote brings calls, text, and voicemails together in one place so teams can see the full conversation, respond quickly and stay organized.
Starting point is 00:10:22 It can be set up in minutes on any device so you can keep your existing number and add teammates as your business grows because Quo will help your business stay reachable and professional without being complex. And with an optional AI agent for after-hours calls, businesses can answer questions and book appointments even when the team is offline. And we've all tried to call a handyman for something you need to fix. Maybe it's the glass on your garage door. If you're anything like me, it shattered the other day. And now I need someone to come replace a glass. Well, if somebody misses that call and it's happened, I'm moving. on to the next option. So money's on the line. And you can say hello with Quo and make sure you
Starting point is 00:11:03 don't miss those calls. Try Quo for free plus 20% off your first six months when you go to Quo.com slash locked on NFL. That's QUO.com slash locked on NFL. Jake, the captains are announced for the Bengals. It's not the 11 that the Rams had. It's seven for the Bengals this year for 2026. We got three on offense, three on defense, and as special teams. the comeback player of the year, Evan McPherson. But it's pretty much expected. One guy lost his captaincy after two years running and maybe the biggest shocker. Well, maybe not.
Starting point is 00:11:42 I guess it depends on maybe the other players are seeing the decline as well. Jake, do you have the list in front of you? You want to read them off for the people? The list on offense for captains is much the same as it has been in recent years. Joe Burrow, Jamar Chase, Ted Carris. And this is the second year in a row for Jamar, I think the seventh year for Joe. I think every year he's been a Bengal. He's been a captain.
Starting point is 00:12:02 And I think it was the fifth year for Ted Karras. Is that right? And so a lot of continuity on offense for the captains. And if these guys are on the team next year and Ted Karras is a question there. I think they'll all be captains again. The difference there is Orlando Brown is no longer a captain. Like you said, after two years running on offense. And that was a little bit of a surprise, Joe, because the Bengals have had eight captains in years past.
Starting point is 00:12:25 And just last year, they had four on offense. and no special teams captain. And that's changed this year with Evan McPherson returning to be the special team's captain on the defensive side of the ball. It's all new faces. But let's get to that in a minute, Joe, because that one is potentially even more interesting. We'll keep people in suspense. I mean, I'm sure you've already seen who it is.
Starting point is 00:12:47 But the conversation, there's a little bit more interesting because the Bengals imported quite a bit of their defensive leadership this offseason, whereas on offense, like I said earlier in the show, it's like a microcosm of the team, right? you have continuity and that also applies to the leadership group. Ted Carras, five years, right? It's crazy. It's been that long that he's even been on the roster. But as you said that, I started counting up from 2022 using my fingers.
Starting point is 00:13:10 And I thought how many non-quarterbacks have the Bengals actually had be a captain for five plus years? And I could see that going year six, seven, right? If it got that far, if they extend them. And I bet there's not a lot. I don't know if there's a website that tracks this. I don't even know if Wikipedia lists this. But if there is, put it in the comments, someone sent us in that. direction. But Ted Carras, just for a second. He is somebody that I think at times gets some
Starting point is 00:13:35 heat because he doesn't do anything exceptional, but he's extremely consistent. I think that's part of what a leader has to be when you're not the quarterback, right? The quarterback is expected to be good, to be the mental leader, the emotional leader, and be the commander of the entire offense. It always goes to the quarterback. But Jamar being probably the best player on the entire roster and getting that captaincy makes a lot of sense. He's been that way for a few years now. But Ted having that and retaining it while Orlando Brown doesn't have it anymore, it says something to me. That like Ted is still viewed as that guy. And that's man, right up the middle there between Ted and Joe and then Jamar, your ultimate playmaker on
Starting point is 00:14:14 offense. I think this makes a ton of sense. And of course, you're going to cut out Orlando. If you're talking those three guys are your captains. And the only other guy I would even consider from that point is I wonder if the next one is like Drew sample for all the dirty work he does like you give him an example. These are players that vote for it. I bet Zach Taylor would vote for Drew Sample, right? I bet Zach Taylor would vote for Chase Brown. But I wonder how many guys on the defensive side are voting for Chase Brown after, you know, some of his comments for last year. So it makes a ton of sense that these three are the nominations. A lot of the guys that were on that defense of Chase Brown called out last year, no longer with the team. But some of them are.
Starting point is 00:14:48 That's a fair point. And one of those guys that was part of that defense that Chase Brown called out last year is now captain. And that's DJ Turner. The only home. grown captain for the Bengals on defense. But I wanted to circle back to your question as to who has been a non-quarterback captain for more years than Ted Karras, more years than even Joe Burrow. I think the answer is Andrew Whitworth. And I'm not 100% sure it's hard to find all of the answers there, but a quick search turns up that he was a captain for eight or nine of his seasons in Cincinnati out of the 11 that he was in Cincinnati. That makes sense, right? You reflect on who Andrew Whitworth was and what he meant to the Bengals.
Starting point is 00:15:28 Lockout year. Yeah. I think it's nine, nine years as a captain for the Bengals. So just looking at an article here, I think from Paul Danner Jr. in 2024 where he was talking to Andrew Whitworth. So, yeah, nine years for Andrew Whitworth there. I wouldn't be surprised if there's some other offensive linemen going back. I looked at Sam Hubbard.
Starting point is 00:15:49 That was my first thought, like recency, right? Sam Hubbard, but apparently only four years for Sam Hubbard as a captain. And his career was relatively short. One of those guys from that era of Bengals football, along with Logan Wilson and Jermaine Pratt, who were out of football by the time they turned 30. Yeah, that's, that's, you know, not the theme of the show here. But, you know, when you bring that up, it's sad to see.
Starting point is 00:16:10 On the defensive side, captains, two newcomers, and then DJ Turner, of course. But Dexter Lawrence, Brian Cook, they wanted leadership. They wanted to upgrade the talent in a big way in the defense. We know they want to do that with Boye, Mafe, Jonathan Allen, who I thought may have had to do it. chance as well to be a captain. But that way they have talked up DJ Turner with, you know, just the journey he took over the last two seasons with himself and battling through and becoming
Starting point is 00:16:39 the starter. And then once he was a starter really elevating his game to another level. I think they love everything about DJ. And this is what started our thoughts that this extension is going to happen. And again, like Zach, I feel like would vote for a DJ Turner. I think I'm interested in like the coach staff versus the players. And someone asked recently on our Discord chat is the DJ being a captain, a sign that maybe they're going to get this extension done that the organization agrees with that. And I thought, well, Trey Hendrickson got that too last year. And sometimes players like to bestow that on the guide looking for that extension as a another tip or another feather in their cap, another little, you know, yeah, this guy's worth it. Give him that little bit of
Starting point is 00:17:19 extra money. He's a captain of the defense now. I don't know how often that works. But It makes sense for me from a player union perspective. Typically, the guys that get those captaincy votes are respected by their peers 100% of the time, right? Like their teammates are voting for them because they've earned that respect. But typically, they're also good players. So that, I think, could be in a way a message of the front office that says, hey, we know what deserves this title. We know what that really means to be good enough to be a captain on this team.
Starting point is 00:17:52 Now, the Bengals have had some exceptions to this rule. They haven't had any consistency with captains on the defensive side of the ball, which is why the coaching staff in the front office this off season kept talking about, man, yeah, we need to find leadership. That's part of why they imported it. But DJ Turner taking that step from not being a starter in week one last year to being a captain, the next year and a contract year is a significant step for him. But it's also really interesting, Joe, that they imported captains.
Starting point is 00:18:19 My last note here before we talk about those imported captains, Dexter Lawrence and Brian Cook is that in his press conference, Zach Taylor talked about T. Higgins a little bit and referred to him as in my mind. He's a captain is essentially what Zach Taylor said. So if you're looking for the next guy, it might be T. It might be Orlando. Orlando, I'm sure is part of it. If the Bengals also had a 20 person leadership council like the Rams do,
Starting point is 00:18:40 I'm sure Orlando will be in that group. I'm sure Chase Brown will be in that group. And I wonder what the next step is. And that's something else that I'm thinking about on offense. Like after Ted does depart, maybe he retired. finishes this career at some point. After Orlando finishes his career with the Bengals at some point, is Amarius Mims ready to take that step on offense?
Starting point is 00:19:00 Who's that next guy on the offensive side of the ball? Is it more of a Dylan Fairchild role for the future as far as personalities are part of it? It's not just being good at football. It's also the personalities and the leadership qualities that they bring to bear. So that'll be interesting to watch in the future. But on the defensive side of the ball, I think we might have some stability here with the guys the Bengals brought in from other teams. and if DJ is part of this team next year on the franchise tag or otherwise,
Starting point is 00:19:25 you might have some consistency on the defensive side of the ball. We'll discuss the defensive captains a little bit more here coming up next. Support for today's episode of lockdown Bengals comes from Indeed Sponsored Jobs. When workplace chaos hits and you need to write hire Indeed Sponsored Jobs, helps connect to employers with the candidates who match specific needs like skill certifications and locations. So you're not spending time talking to somebody in Topeka, Kansas. If you're hiring in Cincinnati, you're finding. the right fit for your job.
Starting point is 00:19:54 People are finding quality hires on Indeed right now. The minute we're talking to you about Indeed today, companies like yours will have made 27 hires on Indeed, according to their data worldwide. And often when you're dealing with that chaos of work, you just need the right fit to come in and cut through it all, get things right on track. You don't necessarily need a ton of people.
Starting point is 00:20:12 It's just the right person. And the Bengals are hoping that's the case with Dexter Lawrence. It's going to be a captain this year, right? Be the anchor of this defense. and that can apply in business outside of football too. So to spend less time searching and more time looking at the candidates that are going to fit your boxes, less stress, less time, more results, that's the job for Indeed's sponsors. You get a $75 sponsor job credit to help you get your premium status for your job that it deserves
Starting point is 00:20:37 at Indeed.com slash podcast. Again, that's indeed.com slash podcast. Support locked on Bengals by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Again, indeed.com slash podcast, terms of conditions apply it. that if you need to hire, this is a job for indeed sponsored jobs. Welcome to your most rewarding NFL season ever, only on Fanduel. How rewarding are we talking? More rewarding than a touchdown with time expiring, more rewarding than an 18 point
Starting point is 00:21:03 comeback, maybe even more rewarding than an O-Lyman catching a touchdown. This season, Fandul is making the excitement go beyond what happens on the field with the all new Fandual Rewards Club featuring exclusive offers, surprises, and more. this season, Fanduil is making this season the best season and the most rewarding season ever for you. Every week, check the Fandul app to see what's waiting for you. A touchdown with time expiring, that's tough to be. An 18-point comeback, an offensive lineman catching a touchdown. I don't understand how they're saying it can be more exciting than that. Those are some of the best in the best plays in football. But the Rewards Club has exclusive offers and surprises,
Starting point is 00:21:42 so it may be worth opening that app to see what's waiting for you. Make this season, your most rewarding season ever with Fandul. Visit Fanduil.com to get started today. John, the Bengals bring in a couple of veterans from other teams in desperate search for leadership on the defensive side of the ball. And they get it with all those veterans to some degree. I don't know about Boy A Mafet quite yet. I think it's been a bit of a quiet off season for him.
Starting point is 00:22:10 But with Dexter Lawrence and Brian Cook as captains, and then next on that list to me in terms of leadership, Jonathan Allen, who's drawn praise from his teammates and coaches. is they really did hit the leadership qualities with those guys that are also going to be significant contributors on the defensive side of the ball between the whistles. Yeah, Brian Cook, that was probably the biggest reason he was signed, right? Yeah, good player from Cincinnati, so a homegrown player, not by definition, you know what I'm saying, but getting him in with the leadership that they've really lacked at safety, you know,
Starting point is 00:22:42 getting that Vaughn Bell level player, and we'll see what level Brian Cook levels out at. But at the very least, getting that, I think was a huge part in signing him. Dexter Lawrence, it feels like a bonus that he's also a leader, that he's also a captain. He has been that with the Giants before, but there was some talk, you know, when they traded for him, there was outside voices that instantly were like, yeah, well, because he kind of got lazy at the end or didn't want to be with the Giants or, you know, was not putting forth his best effort. Seems like that has been the opposite of what the Bengals have gotten from Dexter Lawrence
Starting point is 00:23:17 since he's arrived in Cincinnati. Those make a ton of sense for me. I, like you, wonder who that next guy is. I was relieved, I'll tell you this, relieved that it wasn't just automatically Barrett Carter with the green dot. You know, right? Because Ted Carris and Joe Burrow, I talked about, like,
Starting point is 00:23:33 why Burrow gets it. Of course, he's an all-world quarterback, but because the quarterback always gets it, right? But Caris, a lot of times, thinking of like the future of that O line, that center has to do so much. And that's why they get the captain. because you have to listen to that guy. His call is the final word on what you're going to do.
Starting point is 00:23:51 It's hard to give it to the right tackle unless he's all world. And I think for the defensive side, a lot of times that goes to the linebacker. So it's nice to see Cook getting that and not just Barrett Carter because he's wearing the green dot and you have to listen to him in the huddle and this and that. But I do wonder if he's like one of the few guys that doesn't get that C on their chest, but is with the Jonathan Allen and Zaboye Mafe's. And I can see even BJ Hill as being a veteran that's put on the scene for as long as he has, I think they've got enough guys now. They never had the guy that was like the captain,
Starting point is 00:24:23 even Sam Hubbard, the captain, and like to take BJ Hill, but is All World also. It's nice to have Dexter Lawrence have that combination of the two. Yeah, like was Jesse Bates, the captain in his last year? Yeah, I think it was his last two.
Starting point is 00:24:37 And DJ Reader was the captain for a few years. And I would say DJ Reader was All World, but All World is a run-stopping nose tackle that isn't always the most appreciated, not the Miles Garrett type. of all world player, but the DJ Reeder type of all world player, the different level of notoriety that you get for the different roles that you play like that. I'm just glad that the import has worked, that bringing in these external guys immediately clicked with the locker room, immediately
Starting point is 00:25:03 landed and their leadership qualities played out in such a fashion that they earned the respect of the locker room. It does seem like the locker room vibes this year are much more akin to the years that things went well for the Bengals, then the years and went poorly. There seems to be cohesion in that locker room, social cohesion, in addition to just football cohesion. And while it's really hard to quantify how much that matters, things seemed more fractured the last couple of years
Starting point is 00:25:32 where there were the holdouts and the contract drama and all these things. And we have talked about it being a relatively drama-free off season with there are still some questions out there, right? That, you know, is there going to be an 11th hour extension here, leading up to week one. It seems unlikely, right? There's nothing that we know is being worked on. It continues to feel like it's just not going to happen to this point.
Starting point is 00:25:53 For DJ Turner, who we last heard was miles apart from the Bengals. We're thinking about a franchise tag next year. Dax Hill, who we haven't really heard from a ton. He's been dealing with that injury. Nolan's really asking the question about the extension, though, and the beat, which makes you think that's also not really on the radar. Same is probably true for a guy like Chase Brown. So if those extensions don't happen, then that's something that we might look back at at some point.
Starting point is 00:26:18 But as of now, it seems like the vibes are, as we've been saying, all offseason, quite high right now going into the season. And the last time it felt like that in this locker room, the Bengals did really get good results about it. So, well, like I said, it's hard to quantify. It can't hurt. And that is a good place to be along with the health that we've discussed heading into week one. Nice full circle there on this topic. We started this with health, right? In the beginnings of the offseason, just stay healthy.
Starting point is 00:26:46 And they're at week one, and they've accomplished that goal. The other one big conversation was, man, the vibes are different. The feelings different. The locker room feels different. They're jelling. Everything that they were saying was what we wanted to hear. And for that to come full circle for week one with the captain votes is the guys they brought in to fix a lot of that situation. I agree.
Starting point is 00:27:06 Those are good things for this Bengals season. Hopefully it means wins at the end of the year. Jake, we got a couple of minutes here. Are you interested in the Bucks? Let you want to look ahead at the maybe the Bucks captains here just to tie this all in together? Sure. Let's talk about the Bucks captains. Also have a Bucks injury update for those of you here at the end. They're also worried about a couple of wide receivers. Emeka, Bucca did practice on Monday and so did McMillan for the Buc. So whatever questions you had about the Bucs out, they appear to be about as healthy as the Bengals. They have five guys. Oh, they're injured reserve right now, but none of them, as far as I know or can remember, remember were significant contributors for the buck. So talking about the bucks health, they're also in a pretty good place heading into
Starting point is 00:27:48 the season. Yeah. So Baker Mayfield as quarterback, it's a captain, of course, Tristan Worf's all world left tackle against captain C and then Chris Godwin, who is now with Mike Evans out, the veteran of that receiver room and it's pretty good receiver room, but so it's good to see that they're healthy. On the defensive side, Vita Vaya, so they also have a nose tackle, probably the next best nose tackle or most impactful nose tackle in the league. So a lot of similarities there. Alex Anzolone at linebacker, if you remember, he was formerly with the Lions.
Starting point is 00:28:16 They signed him in free agency. So they needed help at linebacker. It seems like they've got it. Probably are answering the same questions Bengals are right now. And then Antoine Winfield Jr. at safety, which makes sense. He's their all world safety. He's one of their best players on defense. So those are there, six.
Starting point is 00:28:30 They don't have seven. Nobody on special teams. It seems about right for me for what I would expect. I guess my takeaway there is, Joe, is that the Bengals are going to win this game because Evan McPherson as a team captain is significantly better than whoever the kicker is for the Tampa Bay Buccaneer. Who is the two is actually don't know. No, I don't know.
Starting point is 00:28:48 I was going to say, uh, the guy that they draft Zane Gonzalez, a bunch of years, but I don't think it's saying anymore. I think Zane went on to a bunch of different teams. It's not. It's Chase McLaughlin, who, uh, they signed from the Colts, uh, as an unrestricted free agent back in 2023. So he's been with the Bucks for quite a while. And I don't think the Bengals have played the bucks since 2023. So I guess they would have played them in 2020. That's right. No, that was 2022, wasn't it? Well, 23, 24, 25, 26. Oh, yeah, no, it would have been 22. Yeah, that's how
Starting point is 00:29:24 counting works. So we've got the everyday or club. Do we have the every minute club? Because that's what you get in the final minutes of the lockdown pickles podcast. You get the who's the kicker for the boxes. We both scramble to figure out who it is. That's right. That's going to do it. As Joe points out, the final minutes have ended for this episode of the Locktime Bengals podcast. Tomorrow we'll be talking a little bit about what the Bengals can do to alleviate some of the slow start issues and a revisit a tactical idea for the first couple of weeks that could involve some play action to get things going fast. And we'll have more to talk about as well as we're getting ready for week one of the regular season. Until that, thanks for listening to this episode of the Lockdown Bengals podcast.
Starting point is 00:30:03 Food day and have a good book.

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.