INDIANAPOLIS — Cincinnati Bengals de facto general manager Duke Tobin spoke on the podium at the NFL Scouting Combine for 18 minutes before engaging in another 36 minutes with local reporters away from the buzz of activity in the Indianapolis Convention Center.
Combined with the 63 minutes he offered up in the tense aftermath of the Bengals’ 6-11 season, there’s nobody who listened to all 117 minutes of his opinions after the season and says they don’t understand his perspective.
There’s nuance beyond the headlines, but there were a few important observations to be made as Tobin took on several topics that have built over the last two months in anticipation of free agency and the draft.
Here’s a closer look at his thoughts on the idea of taking big swings, restructuring Joe Burrow’s contract, fixing the defensive line, the future of Dalton Risner and Trey Hendrickson.
Big swings coming in free agency, trades?
“We’re always looking if there’s an opportunity that we feel warrants it,” Tobin said. “You have to give up things, and when you take a big swing, there’s a big chance you miss. And it can stay with you for a long time and keep you in the dugout, if we’re staying with baseball. We don’t want to stay in the dugout. That’s not a place we want to be. You don’t get to take a big swing for free. Big swings take big compensation.”
What it means: You can send back those Maxx Crosby Bengals jerseys. The topic of making a big deal or bold move to find a star for this defense makes for fun fodder and conversation pieces, but that’s just not the tone of anything Tobin spoke about Tuesday. It’s also not along the lines of the way Tobin has ever really operated. Draft capital is too valuable, and the Bengals believe they have a direct plan to use the resources they have to solve the problems on defense.
This setup of the issues, team history and tone of this conversation suggested an approach of trying to nail the mid-tier free agents once again and having those players serve as “force multipliers” in defensive coordinator Al Golden’s system for their young players.
Think back to what unfolded in 2021 with a collection of Mike Hilton, Chidobe Awuzie, Larry Ogunjobi and others that microwaved a defense that helped carry the Bengals to the Super Bowl. That year did include landing Hendrickson on a significant free-agent contract, so there’s still a chance the Bengals will reach to the upper regions of the free-agent market for the right pass rusher, but Tobin is not hunting big swings with an opinion that would make the big difference.
Restructuring Joe Burrow’s contract?
“We look at all areas to increase our competitiveness if we have to. Cap dollars have to be counted, so if we can accomplish what we want to accomplish without pushing things into future problems, we’ll do that. If we need that, we’ll consider that as well. Like I said, we’re open to doing anything we need to do to improve our team where we’re satisfied we’re gonna win a championship. That’s our mindset, and that’s the way we’re going into the offseason. But we have resources right now, and we’ll see what we can get done.”
What it means: Don’t count on a Burrow restructure — unless an ideal scenario comes along. This certainly suggests the Bengals believe they can execute a free-agency and draft plan that checks all the boxes and doesn’t require restructuring to add to “future problems.”
Many teams with franchise quarterbacks have done so, but unless a situation too good to pass up comes along, they don’t plan on restructuring Burrow just for the idea of going “all in.” In fact, Tobin pushed back on the idea he isn’t all in, doubling down on how much time and energy everyone is putting toward getting this team back, as well as why the pressure he puts on himself is far stronger than anything anyone on the outside could put on him. He referenced that they gave out “$400 million in contracts last year” in an effort to go for it, a reference to the Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins deals that led last year’s surge, though none of those moves required changing the deal already in place with Burrow. Barring an ideal opportunity, that didn’t sound like Plan A here.
What’s next with the defensive tackle position?
“I think that it can play better. I think those guys can continue to improve. I think some of them have the talent it takes to be effective players in this league. I think the unit as a whole, you know, didn’t play well as a group as it should have, as it could, but I think that’s on those guys to take the teaching. We’re doing things differently there, and I think that they’re growing into those roles. I have a lot of regard for all of those guys, and I think they have roles going forward for us. I envision roles going forward, or they still wouldn’t be here. So I haven’t given up on any of them. I see talent in them. I see an eagerness to be good football players. And so I think there’s still two of them are still pretty young in their career.
“I think B.J. Hill really battled through significant things this year to where he couldn’t practice all the time. I think he got that taken care of, and I think he might have a real bounce back when he can practice and so forth. But he was a warrior for us, because he had significant things that were going on in his foot and ankle. And, you know, we tried to get them to Sundays, and he battled through. That’s what he’s all about. Those are the type of guys you need. And then Kris (Jenkins) was coming on before he got hurt. And I think Kris can kind of play all along the D-line, which is something that Al and (defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery) want these guys to have, flexibility and the ability to play in multiple techniques. I think Kris has a chance to really do that. And the more McKinnley (Jackson) gets to play, the more I see him coming on. He’s got to earn the right to stay out there and play.”
B.J. Hill has been with the Bengals since 2021. (Albert Cesare / Imagn Images)
What it means: Hill is not going anywhere. He has a roster bonus due on the fifth day of the league year for $2 million, and he will be getting it. The Bengals view him as part of the answer, and even at 31, capable of being a more impactful player after getting his injury issues taken care of this season. He also continues to talk optimistically about Jenkins, a guy who has underperformed through two seasons.
That’s a notable amount of optimism for the two players at the core of one of the biggest weak spots on the Bengals’ defense last year.
What’s Dalton Risner’s future?
“I thought it ended up being a great fit for him in how we play, and he became a great fit for us and came in and filled the need for us. Did a nice job, fit in well, got a ton of respect for him, really enjoyed getting to know him. He’s really, you know, a fantastic person just to be around in the locker room on a day-to-day basis. And he’s a guy that we’ve talked to, and we’ll see if we can get something done. He’s got decisions to make, and we’ve got decisions to make, and he’s a guy that we like a lot.”
What it means: Signing Risner doesn’t sound as simple as anybody would hope. That makes sense, of course, as Risner hopes to capitalize on one of the best seasons of his career. Yes, the Bengals are trying to bring him back, but if there’s a market for him elsewhere, well, we know what the conversation at guard has looked like around here in the past. There’s probably common ground here they can find, but coach Zac Taylor said they are “in the business side of things” right now, so this doesn’t appear to be a layup signing at this moment. This will likely go down to the free-agency deadline, as most of these types of deals do.
Trey Hendrickson tag and trade?
“I don’t throw anything on or off the table with Trey, and we’re excited about attacking this offseason. We have resources to attack the offseason in a big way, and we want to do that. In terms of how we’re going to do that, how we’re going to allocate our resources, you know, who is it going to be on, our own free agents, what’s our intentions there? I’m not going to get into that right here. It’s just not the time to announce that to the rest of the league, so that’s the best way I can answer that.”
What it means: Tobin was asked multiple times in multiple fashions about the idea of tagging Hendrickson, and he wasn’t budging. He did acknowledge clearly that any version of tag and trades that generally occur are “complicated.” He wasn’t offering any idea of how he’s leaning but didn’t see it as a simple process to execute generally.