Same Old Bengals
DJ Reader, Jamarr Chase, Chidobe Awuzie, Eli Apple, Stanley Morgan, Josh Tupou. All these players have been injured for multiple weeks, with no return dates announced yet. With all these injuries the Cincinnati Bengals still decided to stand back and watch as the NFL trade deadline dwindled away without making any moves.
In addition to the extended injuries of the aforementioned players, Trey Hendrickson, Sam Hubbard, Germaine Pratt, and Logan Wilson have also dealt with injuries this season, often putting a snap limit on them.
The Bengals just came off a Supe Bowl run, a game they should have won, but didn’t. Common sense here would tell the team to be very aggressive in reloading their team to get back and win it this year. Ownership was very aggressive in the offseason, taking steps to upgrade the offensive line, but took no steps to upgrade their team at the deadline.
When three of your best players are facing lengthy injuries, it is unacceptable to just sit back and not make any moves. Monday night against the Browns, a mediocre WR core tore up the Bengals DBs. Awuzie, the team’s best DB tore his ACL in this game. At the very least the team could have made a trade for another DB to fill this void. Even Lou Anarumo, the defensive coordinator told reporters that he doesn’t know what he will do without Awuzie on the field.
It seems as if a team that seemed destined to win a Super Bowl 3 months ago is back to its old ways. The narrative used to be that Cincinnati never spent money, never made moves, and didn’t care to compete. When Zac Taylor took over it seemed like this narrative was finally changing, especially with the acquisition of Joe Burrow. However, fans are starting to question this once again.
Fans are desperate for a championship. The Reds have accepted mediocrity and may never win a championship in many of the current fan’s lifetimes, especially with the Castellini’s owning the team. For so long it appeared that the Bengals had also accepted mediocrity. Then a brief period came where fans thought they would always be contenders, and now it’s back to mediocrity.
Cincinnati fans must demand more from the city’s pro sports teams’ owners. It’s time to win something, and it starts with the Bengals. Joe Burrow is far to good to waste his career. Take action to win a championship or let him go to a city that will give him this opportunity.
Cincinnati has one of the best rosters in all of football, and the best roster in franchise history this year. Injuries are a part of the game, and a depleted roster will not do anything for this team. The season is far from over, but the outlook does not look promising. It is simply unacceptable to watch a very talented roster become depleted, without taking any action.