Locked On Bengals - Daily Podcast On The Cincinnati Bengals - Secret Extension REVEALED: Why Zac Taylor Could Stick With Cincinnati Bengals After Failed Season

Episode Date: December 16, 2025

The Cincinnati Bengals extended Zac Taylor's contract through 2027 after the 2022 AFC Championship game—and we found out about it 3 years later. And suddenly, any changes about major changes to the coaching staff or front office look even less likely. James Rapien and Jake Liscow break down the implications of Taylor’s apparent job security, Bengals ownership’s loyalty, and what it means for the future after 3 straight years below expectations. The Bengals have a long history of holding onto key personnel longer than they should, and once again we have to ask how this leadership group gives the Joe Burrow Bengals their best shot at Super Bowl success.Everydayer ClubIf you never miss an episode, it’s time to make it official. Join the Locked On Everydayer Club and get ad-free audio, access to our members-only Discord, and more — all built for our most loyal fans.Click here to learn more and join your team’s community:** https://lockedonpodcasts.com/everydayerclubJoin the Locked On Bengals Insider Community! https://joinsubtext.com/lockedonbengalsFind and follow Locked On Bengals on your favorite podcast platforms:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/locked-on-bengals-daily-podcast-on-the-cincinnati-bengals/id1159723162Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7AObc0lh0WmQl5fJVgtajsGoogle Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vbG9ja2Vkb25iZW5nYWxz?sa=X&ved=0CAYQrrcFahcKEwio_sXtj8nuAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAgStitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/locked-on-bengalsSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Rocket MoneyTake control of your finances and cancel your unwanted subscriptions with Rocket Money.Go to https://RocketMoney.com/LOCKEDONtoday.Aura FramesFor a limited time, save on the perfect gift by visiting https://AuraFrames.com to get $35 off Aura’s best-selling Carver Mat frames - named #1 by Wirecutter - by using promo code LOCKEDON at checkout.FanDuelIf you want to be right in the middle of the action this season, visit FanDuel.com and place your NFL live bets all season long.PrizePicksDownload the PrizePicks app today and use code LOCKEDONNFL to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup.Click Here: https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONNFLGametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.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.

Zach Taylor and Duke Tobin have more job security than we even thought will break down why now. 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 Locked on Podcast Network, now the number one sports podcast network in the land. He's James Rapine. I'm Jake, let's go in. We have you covered here on lockdown Bengals every day,

and we have since 2016. That goes through. You can count them on two fingers. One, two head coaches in the Cincinnati Bengals long history. And that appears to be how it will remain at least for 2026. A huge report from Paul Dana Jr. On Tuesday outlining an extension that no one knew Zach Taylor received. And that is the.

crux of this episode. We talk about the future for Zach Taylor, this coaching staff, Duke Tobin, the front office structure for a team that has always been load to change and appears to be ready to continue that unsavory history of being slow and incremental in every change they make. Today's episode of Blackdown Bengals is sponsored by Fandall. If you want to be right in the middle of the action this season, visit Vandul.com and place your NFL live bets all season long. and as we welcome back the everydayers, the diehard, those of you who make Lockdown Bengals your first listen. I woke up to this news, James.

I'm out on the West Coast on Tuesday morning. I wake up and I see a bunch of people talking about Zach Taylor two years. And I'm sitting there like, did he get an extension? No, not this year. Three years ago after the AFC championship game, Zach was extended again, got an extra year tacked on. His deal was redone after. an AFC championship appearance, the year after a Super Bowl appearance, and somehow it was

kept secret for all these years. We did not know. Zach actually has two years left on his deal. And my reaction is essentially the time is a flat circle. The Bengals are doing as the Bengals have done. No, they're not. They're doing the thing they've never done ever. They've never done this.

They've never been proactive like this. They're idiots is what they are. Because what they did is they said, all right, Zelle, Taylor, your job is in danger and he's on record saying how he felt that way, midway through the 2021 season. And they end up in the Super Bowl and they all sign extensions and everything's great and they should have gotten extensions. They got to the Super Bowl.

But when have the Bengals extended an extension that didn't need to be extended? This is, it's crazy to me. And I get it. It's the best two-year run in franchise history. Like 2021 was awesome. They followed that out after a rough start to 2022 by winning 10 straight. Better send those refunds. They go to Buffalo and they kick the crap out of the bills after winning another playoff game at home with the Hubbard Yard dash, the fumble in the jungle, whatever you want to say against the Ravens.

And it really felt like they were on their way to back-to-back Super Bowls. I get it. I understand. I remember those moments, as do you. But the Bengals never do this. they never say, oh, man, you've done such a good job one year into a deal. We're going to re-up it. We're going to read.

I mean, Trey Hendrickson's been asking for this for like, since he got to town. And it hasn't happened. Joe Burrow, did they give him an extension after what he did in 2024 when he was awesome? No, they didn't, did they? Even though he got that extension in 23. It's just, it's wild to mean. It's really surprising. So I get why you said, yeah, this is what they do, because you're right.

They are loyal to a fault with coaches. And we've seen that. But this is wild, wild because they just didn't have to do it. And it almost makes me wonder, like, did someone come calling for Zach in the college ranks in 2022? Was there like another offer out there? I looked up the Oklahoma job. He's from Norman Oklahoma.

I looked up the Oklahoma job just to make sure that was filled by Brett Venables in December 2021. So I don't think it would have been then because they were going on their run at that point. That's the year where they go up to Cleveland on Halloween, lose, and we're left wondering, hey, are they actually good? And then they went out in November, went out in December and get rolling into the playoffs. So I don't think it was that. But was there something? Because it just seems so ridiculous, certainly now, after three straight years of missing the playoffs. I think it also explains why Zach Taylor does feel pretty comfortable in his comments and blocking out all of the noise.

A contract through 2027 will certainly do that. Yeah, I think the path, you're right, the path to get here is different. This is not something they've done. It's a different way to get to the point that they've always been out in the past. They hold on to coaches multiple years longer than seems like a rational, logical thing to do. Multiple years, multiple years, not just a year. They get past the point of like the question that you asked somewhere earlier this week, which is, does Zach Taylor give you the best chance?

Yes. I think you wrote this, not just a chance, the best chance. Super Bowl. Great question. The Bengals don't ask that question, man. They just don't. They got themselves into another situation where with two years left on a deal, with their history with Marvin Lewis,

which we're going to talk about a little bit in this episode, because it's a little bit relevant to the different situation we find ourselves in today than we thought we were in with Zach Taylor and his remaining years on this deal. They get to this point where we're now overdue, that they will be overdue if Zach Taylor remains the head coach of the team in 2026, which looks more than likely with two years left on his deal. Because the Bengals, for all of the things that they have changed,

aren't going to want to pay an entire coaching staff for two years to not coach for them. And I would assume Al Golden and Dan Pitcher's contracts are in line with Zach Taylor's contract. And probably some of these position coaches, has got a multi-year deal in some spots. It's just not something that seems like it would be in their DNA to do. And that's why it's such a sea level change learning that Zach's contract has a year that we did not know that it had until today. Yeah, it's honestly, and I like Zach.

And that's why I framed the question the way I did. And that's what I thought today's show was going to be. I think you did too. is like, all right, one year left, shout out to Paul Dana Jr. for getting this, but like one year left, as of today, like when I woke up this morning,

this is before I read Paul's report, I thought Zach was still back, to be clear. But I thought it was- We had multiple people asking in our lockdown Bengals Insider, like, hey, who do you think is more likely to be gone? Zach or Duke? I'm like, man, I don't have a good feel for either of those right now.

Like, I, during the game, I was thinking about Todd Munkin and potentially being a head coach is like, I'm taking Tom Munkin off the list that I don't think I actually need anymore. That was during the game on Sunday. When they were getting shut out, I was like, you know what?

I'm not sure I need that list of head coaching candidate. During the game, I started feeling that, like not started feeling that, but you know what I mean. Yeah, you were asked about it and you're like, eh,

I don't know. And that's why I, the only thing I could think of is maybe, maybe another opportunity arose and he used that. other than that because that's really how you get raises. That's how we all get raises in our jobs is you get offers from other jobs and you're willing to take them and you do it that way. Like maybe that happened.

Maybe there was some weird like automatic extension that triggered because he reached another AFC championship. I don't know. Maybe. Maybe. Yeah, maybe if I win double digit games and we say better send those refunds 22 times in Buffalo than it works. Like then it kicks in.

Like maybe that's it. If we say refunds 22 times after a win in Buffalo, then you don't get a refund on that 2027 contract here. Like, who knows what it was, right? But it's wild because I think there's a very good argument. And this is coming from someone who's at least going to see Zach twice this week and maybe multiple times besides that this week. There's a really good argument to say, all right, it's time to move on. Regardless of what Joe says, regardless of what he, he believes in this moment.

History of professional sports says sometimes the star player doesn't know what he doesn't know. And it's time. And that's where I was like ramping up and getting to and all of those things. Like if he has two years left, it's just unrealistic. You know the Bengals. I know the Bengals. There's still a lot more here when it comes to Zach Taylor. When it comes to the future of the coaching staff, we still haven't gotten into the Duke

Tobin part, which I think is less surprising, but still important to note. So plenty, plenty more coming your way. Zach Taylor is under contract for the next two seasons. We'll continue to discuss it coming up next. Today's show is brought to you by Rocket Money. Ever feel like your money just disappears each month? It happens fast. A few subscriptions here, a Zach Contract extension there,

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Take control of your finances and cancel your unwanted subscriptions with RocketMoney. Go to RocketMoney.com slash locked on today. That's RocketMoney.com slash locked on rocketmoney.com slash locked on. Zach Taylor under contract through 2027 leads us to believe that his future with the Bengals is secure. And like you said, we were planning for this show to be about the future. We talked about this on Sunday after the game. We're like, all right, we'll do our film episode. We'll talk about the future on Tuesday.

We got our crossover on the Wednesday night for Thursday. and then we get our preview show for Thursday for Friday. And we've recorded a day ahead of is why those dates might, days might sound confusing for you. So we had our plan for this week. And then, you know, we get this news today. But when we were planning to talk about the future for this coaching staff anyway, I was listening to Zach's press conference from Monday, James.

And even then, and I was already starting to lean like, ah, this conversation might not be necessary. Like we need to have it because of what they should be doing. And we'll talk about what they should be doing too. But as I was listening to that press conference, I felt like Zach was talking with a high degree of certainty about the future, about 2026, about what needs to change going forward, all these things. And now I know why.

Because there's no thought in his mind that he might not be the head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals in 2020. Now, is there like a very, very outside chance that things go so badly in the last three games in the season with Joe Burrow playing quarterback that there's a change? I think there's like a very, very slim chance, but it's slimmer than any of the times we've talked about the Bengals playoff chances this year, any of the times. Any of them. And they were just 3% to be clear, just to give everybody an idea of where it was at. they enter week 15 with a 3% chance some 2.9 we rounded up. I would put it at under 1%. I agree.

You know, and like things would have to go so disastrously wrong. Yeah, like they would have to go to Miami and in Tool would have to do the Hizman on them. And then they'd have to come home and Jacoby Brissette would have to do what he did in week one of 2024 when the Patriots came into Paycorn won. And then you'd have to, you'd honestly probably have to lose out. Like it would have to feel and have like some ugly offensive performances along the way to. Yeah. Which I'm so sick of that.

Like so sick of that part. He's the head coach. I'm done with it. I'm done with the all. Well, the offense looks. I don't I don't care. I agree. But like if it looks really bad with Joe as well, like that is what I'm saying is like that adds the fuel to the fire.

Like if they get shut out again with Joe Burrow at quarterback, like what are we doing? No doubt. No, I get what you're saying. I just, oh, well, the offense is good, so Zach is good. No, man, you're the head coach. I hate it. I hate that narrative. It's weird. I also wonder if that's why Joe Burrow was not, not, I don't think he's really come to the head coaches, or the coaching staff's defense in general.

I think he's just been very clear. It's up to the players. He said that last month when he was coming back and asked about the coaches, said it again on Sunday. I think that's how he's wired. But if you know that Zach's under contract for two more years, Al Golden, by the way, signed a three-year contract. I know when he was hired.

So he's under, like, we thought Zach and Al were kind of attached at the hip, at least I did, regardless of their contracts. Well, now they certainly are. You're not firing Al if, in giving Zach another shot at another defensive coordinator, if Zach's under contract for two more years. I just, I think that this should have certainly been the year Zach had to show and earn an extension in 2027 and beyond. And instead, for whatever reason, they jumped the gun and they gave him that extension

after the AFC championship game. Didn't announce it, which is why no one knew, which that's on us. We should have known. Shout out to Paul for knowing. I don't think Paul's known this whole time, by the way. Shout out to him for getting that info and reporting it. And it leads to what Zach said on Monday, which this wall might as well be a wall. of money, Jake. That's what I'm picturing, a money wall for Zach Taylor to block out the noise.

When I tell you, there's a brick wall surrounding me and isolating me from any feelings people have about me or their views on me, I can't allow that to dictate how I operate. And so truthfully, that doesn't affect me in any way, shape, or form. And I just keep doing my job to the best of my abilities. And this year certainly hasn't been good enough with the record we're at right now. I get that. But I'm just going to keep doing everything. I can to get this team ready to play on Sunday. On the one hand, like, yeah, man, that is your job. On the other hand, man, people are sick of hearing what Zach Taylor has to say.

To his credit, he did take accountability for the record. He said that it starts and ends with him being in the place they're at. You know, he took accountability for it. And he was asked what that means. He talked about not shying away from taking responsibility for that when it comes to his conversations with players and and his his his employer i think but man like got a brick wall around him so he says stuff like having a brick wall around him i guess he can build that brick wall with that 2027 contract baby who gosh yeah i mean come on come on like how why would they do this to

themselves. I mean, I guess this is why they didn't want to accent, Trey. That's a joke. That's not a serious comment. They probably have some regret, though, right? Like, they're hitched to these guys. And that's how they're feeling about it.

Now, on many other teams in the NFL, and this is where, like, this should thing comes into it, right? I think it's very clear what we think they should be doing. many NFL teams, they're cutting bait here. They don't care. Many NFL teams, and there's a long, I'm not even going to go through the list, but there's so many teams that go through a coach every year.

And I'm glad the Bengals aren't the kind of team that goes through a new coach every year. That's its own kind of exhausting. That's its own kind of bad process. But the Bengals are the opposite end of that extreme, the opposite pole of the problem where it's just, such a long history now, James, of keeping coaches past

their apparent expiry date. Yeah, for sure. It's, it better work. It better work. Because right now it feels very similar to holding, like Duke Tobin made the comment. We held on to some of our Super Bowl core too long. Like, clearly they're holding onto their

their staff too long. It also gives us some insight into the Lue side of it. Like, why Zach won that power struggle and why he was able to get the guys he wanted is because like he had three years on his deal he had he had 25 26 and 27 on his deal they weren't they weren't letting him go then like i just don't understand why like let's just say jimar chase he had a really good year this year and is dynamic and is going to potentially lead the end of phone receptions again and all of those things are they going to have a discussion about giving him another extension

you and I both know there's no way in hell that happens. For Jamar Chase, there was never a time in Zach Taylor's tenure, even in 21 and 22, where we thought he was a top five head coach in the league. We do, no, not we, like anyone, ask anyone in the league, ask anyone anywhere. So how do he get that extra year? Maybe you're right. Maybe it was just something in the contract. But if it wasn't that, I just, it's so, I don't think that's what it is.

by the way. I don't either. How did he get it? How did he get it? We won 10th grade. I'm the best coach and franchise. And by the way, he's been awesome in the playoffs. They haven't been to the playoffs in years.

Like years now. Joe Burrow has been out of the playoffs much longer than he was at LSU. Think of it that way. Like that's brutal because a lot of people remember him from LSU from one year. It's been a long time. Long time. And that's surprising news. It doesn't sound like that Duke Tobin's going anywhere either.

That was always a bit of a long shot, but we'll discuss Duke Tobin's role in all of this, the front office's role in all of this as we continue the show on what is not a very pleasant Tuesday for us so far, recording this episode. I'll say that coming up next. Today's show is brought to you by Fandle. And maybe you think that the Bengals are going to handle business in Miami, that Zach Taylor's going to rally the troops. go to Miami, beat up onto a Tunga Vailoa. Well, of course you can get on all the fun there.

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The game moves fast. And so can you with Fandle at Fandle. all right jake let's uh continue with duke tobin here and uh boy boy oh boy i don't think we thought he was out i did think i left the door open for i maybe though they'll like pull him by his his polo shirt back just a smidge from a responsibility standpoint and allow the mike potts who've been on this show stever disavitch who's been on this show maybe some of these other scouts to do a bit more. And it doesn't feel like that.

Paul Dana Jr. with the report here, and I'm just going to read part of it just because it kind of tells you exactly, one, what the mindset has been for us and fans and then how it is internally. Quote, he's, as in Duke, never seen his world challenged or exposed to this level externally.

That's us. Internally, however, it's just not happening. Tobin is viewed his family and nearly the same regard as the actual Browns and Blackburns, there is zero thought. I'll repeat that. There is zero thought that his job is in jeopardy. You have to lead the Bengals out of this drought and ownership. Trust him to do so.

Am I supposed to talk? Man, that's no thought, not even thinking about, not even thinking like, hey, is this going okay? Not even thinking about it? I guess if they see him as a member of the family, that does make sense. because Duke is only part of this conversation when it comes to the front office, right? It immediately, immediately extends from Duke to the family

and the way the family does business, the way they organize themselves from a, here's who negotiates the contract, division of labor, here's who makes decisions, here's how we make decisions, here's where we're going to step in and override the football people, meaning Duke Tobin and his staff, which I think still happens.

There's still some evidence that there's bad process happening in the front office on draft night and in the free agency process. So while Duke is certainly at the center of things, Duke is at the center of things partially because the Bengals don't have a general manager and still have this division of labor between the family, Katie Blackburn primarily negotiating contracts as far as we understand it, and Duke Tobin, who's trying to make football decisions, but doesn't have a budget to make those football decisions all by himself. He knows what the budget is. He can make recommendations and say, hey, this is the kind of thing that we would like to do, but he's not operating with full autonomy.

Ownership is still more involved here than most of the other franchises in the NFL. Dallas is certainly an exception to this rule where the family is highly involved in. football operations in Dallas. Obviously, that's going great for them. And there's a reason that there's so many similarities, I think, despite the massive gap in franchise value and wealth between the Joneses and the Browns and Blackburns, there are similarities between these franchises. And that's the most direct parallel that I can think of.

I know there are families involved in some of the other front offices out there, too. But it goes from, yeah, Duke's draft decisions and draft process have left something to be desired lately. The free agent halls, since they reset when Joe was on his rookie contract, have left something to be desired. They've been awful, yeah. But then the family's involved too, and the big ask continues to be, family step back,

get a real GM in there, let somebody really run this thing from a football operations perspective, and get your hands out of the pie. Be owners. Don't try to run the team as well. So like those things do go together to me when you talk about Duke. I know that this was supposed to be a Duke segment. Inevitably it spirals into a family segment.

What do you think? Well, you're right. You're right. And that's why I find it tough to put blame on Duke because I don't know what's him and what's not him. I think Demetrius Knight is him, right? And so draft stuff in general, I think, has been him. Free agent wise, you don't think Duke Toby. wanted to keep jesse bates contract structure wise same thing did do yeah did duke tobin really think

that they should move on from dj reader like did he i don't know i do know how certain people in the building feel about dj and they didn't want him to go and so that's that's what's tough is the balance and placing blame and i think people to a large extent feel the same way about zach and i get it i do the thing is though i don't think that will ever ever change. I think Katie will always handle contracts, like for the foreseeable future. I don't think that they're going to get a GM. And so what changes could they make, will they make to change their structure within the walls that they're willing to do, right? And that's how I've kind of operated. So I never really expected Duke to be gone. He's family. Was there a time? Like, there are people on

social media blaming Duke for the Achilles Smith pick. Like that was Mike Brown. Mike Brown made all the football decisions until like 2009-ish, 2008-ish. The Jerome Simpson pick, like in that range is when things started to go toward Duke and float. But Mike Brown still signs off on Zach Taylor's future and Duke Tobin and in these big picture items. It's still going to be him making that decision, which I think is right. I don't know if I want Katie doing it.

Katie's the one that's held up a lot of these negotiations. And it's been really painful and been annoying. And the contract structure part of it, which I think could really help them if they just modernized a little bit from how they structure some of these deals. Just a little bit. And so, yeah, it's a whole cluster of stuff when it comes to Duke. And because he's not available or Katie's not available, that's another factor here because I'm not sure we're going to hear from any of them anytime soon, even though they should talk. They should talk after the season or between. now in the end of the season for sure because this was a failure by all all measures and it's it's not

just on Zach and I'm aware of that you're aware of that and internally they need to be aware of that and should address it and be willing to to own up to it as well but instead where we are is doesn't seem like anything's changing and your hopes for 2026 are that this stuff has been unable to get this thing right for the last three years. They've had some injuries. Joe specifically has had some injuries that have made this more difficult task. But even when you had a healthy Joe last year, playing at an extremely high level,

couldn't get the job done. Couldn't get to the playoffs. Four and eight, four and ten. That's been the reality of the last two years for this team. And nothing changes? how do you get to that point? What other NFL teams have these seasons back to back and get to this point?

With the franchise quarterback, not rebuilding, trying to win. The expectations are so much higher. This is a team that for the last two years has had playoff, deep playoff run aspirations, preseason expectations. And there were questions about the defense for sure. But for the most part this year, the defense has been beyond the, the worst case of fears.

Like the defense could come up all tails on the coin flips. Remember those coin flips we talked about? Most of those have come up tails. DJ Turner came up heads. That's a big one. Most of them have come up tails. And is that foreseeable? Yeah, to some degree.

But this is, I think, for the most part, this season has been worse than you could have imagined. And now you want to run back the group that put this defense together. and has really struggled to figure things out. I mean, you got Al Golden on Monday talking about how he's so pleased with the linebackers taking a leap after the buy. And Zach Taylor talked about, I know nobody wants to hear it, but he's talking about, he said, he said, I know no one wants to hear it. But the defense is playing better. And he knows there's still a long way for it to go. But that's what they believe in the building right now.

Man, like, and you're trusting these people and Duke Tobin? to make these decisions to get this thing righted for 2026, that's what you're selling your fans on in 2026. They could surprise us. Don't get me wrong. Joe Burrow is still the quarterback. Jamar Chase is still the wide receiver. Until that's not the case,

they could always make a run. They could always surprise them with some other things fall into place. But that's what it feels like is you're asking for things to fall into place and asking for a whole lot of trust for guys that haven't earned it to put them in a position for those things falling into place to fit, into the puzzle pieces where they need to and actually make a total picture when those pieces fall. Does Zach Taylor give them the best shot to win a Super Bowl? Does Duke Tobin give them the best shot?

Does Katie Blackburn give them the best shot? Does her negotiating with T. Higgins and Jemar Chase when free agency is in full swing? Does that give them the best shot? We know the answers. We know the answers. They didn't do squat this offseason to fix the defense, which is a big reason why they're here. Dalton Reisner, their biggest addition, free agency-wise, on offense, in my mind, happens right before the season starts, and it should happen months earlier. But why didn't it?

Money. The budget. Budget that would have been there had Katie negotiated or structured, even, structured the contracts of T. and Jemar the way she showed off so we just have too much info now like you can't hide the structure you can't hide any of it we see it and uh we're going to have uh plenty of discussions this is just this is just the beginning jake lisco of we're still decisions there's still three games left oh man oh man three games football as you ask those questions do does x person give the bengals the best chance. We know the answer

and I don't think it's even being asked. Or if it is, they sure are diluting themselves. Let's wrap up there. The Bengals do continue to play football games this season. We will talk about what to watch for as the Bengals prepared to travel to Miami for their final

road game of the season to game flexed out of prime time into the one o'clock slot on Sunday. Until next time, thanks for listening to this episode of the Lockdown Bengals podcast. Houday. And have a good. How hard was that Who day to say?

Yeah.