Bengals Booth Podcast: Hope and Dreams

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1:07sports illustrated senior NFL writer Connor or explains why he thinks the Bengals are contenders again after their moves in free agency. Plus Joe Flacco resigned with the Bengals this week for what will be his 19th NFL season. And that makes him a perfect candidate for the game. I call 10 teammates in a hat. The Bengals booth podcast is brought to you by pay core proud to be the Bengals official HR software provider by all to fiber future proof fiber internet designed to elevate your home business and community to a new level. And by catering health, the best care for the best fans, catering health is the official health care provider of the Bengals. Now here's a quick reminder that you can have the latest edition of this podcast delivered right to your phone, tablet or computer by subscribing. Wherever you get your podcasts, it's the greatest thing since photographer number 24. The master's tournament is about two weeks away and the tournament's official

2:10Twitter or ex account recently promoted an upcoming documentary called photographer number 24, the kid behind the lens. It's the story of how baseball Hall of Famer, Ken Griffey, Jr. covered the master's last year as a credentialed photographer. I got to know junior when he played for the Cincinnati Reds. And he's one of my all time favorite athletes on and off the field. The trailer for the documentary looks great. And I will be setting my DVR to make sure I don't miss it. Photographer number 24 premieres on NBC on Sunday, April 5th. That's Easter Sunday at one o'clock. Now let's get to my first guest sports illustrated senior NFL writer and fellow Syracuse University alum Connor or has written quite a bit about the Bengals in recent years, including a big feature story about the bond between Jamar Chase and T Higgins that appeared in the magazine last August. But I had to talk to Connor this week after seeing a story he wrote for SI dot

3:15com. Connor, I reached out after you wrote a recent story, ranking NFL teams after free agency with this eye catching headline for Cincinnati fans. Post free agency power rankings, Bengals commanders are contenders again. That suggests that you like what Cincinnati did in free agency. What in particular stood out? Well, I think the way that they operate they upgraded the past rush is is kind of where it's going. We watched Seattle last year when a Super Bowl not with one elite past rusher or not with trying to make one past rusher elite. And it was instead four or five guys that are going to get seven or eight sax piece. And I think that's where the game is going. So long as you can coach the players in that way and teach them to be a little bit unselfish. And so bringing some of that vibe with you to Cincinnati, I think that that's what that defense is going to look like. They kind of for so long it was so dependent on Trey Hendrickson.

4:16But I like that. I like getting a run stopping safety. They're going to be able to play. I think a little bit of a bigger nickel kind of defense like we're seeing is pretty prevalent in the NFL. So they set themselves up. Well, I like them in the division right now. Their offseason mission was to fix the defense. I think we all expect the offense to be good, particularly if Joe stays healthy this year. Do you think the defense looks like it is slightly improved or significantly improved based on what they've done? It's hard. It's hard because, you know, I, you can never measure the loss of someone like Trey Hendrickson because it goes beyond what he does on the field. But I think that if you take the onus off of one past rusher and you allow yourself to be a little bit more flexible, I think that automatically makes the defense better because one injury doesn't wipe you out like it used to. And I saw the defense coming around towards the end of last year. Some of the tackles, you know, Murphy had some of his better games. I think towards the end of last year, so you have to count on some of that, too. I think some of these guys are just going to eventually kind of find their

5:18way too. So I think they got better for sure. Was there anything you thought the Bengals should have done and didn't or at least haven't yet? It's hard for me to say because I thought that there were some fun dynamic backs in free agency that and even though that I think Cincinnati is like relatively settled at the position that just could have added that extra, you know, just that extra mile for that offense like Jill burrow is so good in the pocket and he's so good at moving around. And I thought someone like Kenneth Gainwell would have been so perfect. And they've seen him in the division a couple of times. I mean, he'd barrel air and Rogers out of so many holes last year. And basically the bucks replaced him were shot white with him, which shows how much they thought of him. And so I always like the idea of adding a dynamic back for someone like burrow quarterbacks like him. But you know, I think that's small potatoes. And if you are confident enough in your scouting staff, you feel like you can get one of those guys in the draft.

6:19Connor or from Sports Illustrated is our guest. How many times have you picked Joe burrow as your preseason MVP? And will you do it again this year? I can't. So last year, it was three years in a row. Starting with the post Super Bowl. He was our football preview issue cover. And so we had a profile at Joe, which was a lot of fun to work on. Let me pick them to be the MVP and then the year after that. And then last year, I did it again and like the one of the executive editors of the magazine was like, you can't can't do that. It's like Chris Burman and what we picked the bills. There was 49 or 49 second of years. And they're like, it's going to start to take on that air to it. And I gave like a Mr Smith goes to Washington, like in passion speech in a meeting. And I was like, this is why it has to be this. And if he doesn't win at this year, we'll never pick him again. But I'm going to go back and try to do it again this year too. I mean, he's going to throw like 40 touchdowns, of course.

7:20You're bound to be right sooner or later. Exactly. If I just stay with it, you know, that's that's the course. So getting back to your power rankings from earlier this week, you have Cincinnati, 11th overall, Baltimore 12th Pittsburgh 20th and Cleveland 30th. I'm just going to kind of toss Cleveland away because nobody expects them to contend in the AFC North. But based on that, do you kind of see a Cincinnati Baltimore top tier Pittsburgh a step back? Yeah. And it's just, it's hard because we don't, we don't know for sure who the Steelers quarterback is going to be, right? And so doing one of those exercises is difficult because it's like, I can imagine, and we know what they're going to look like with Aaron Rogers. I think they're going to take a step back with the McCarthy offense, which I think plays into Rogers's worst habits as a quarterback and doesn't give him that complimentary run game that Arts Smith gave him. And so I see them taking a step back regardless. And I think it's impossible to follow Mike Tomlin, no matter who you are,

8:21even if you're Mike McCarthy. So I do think it's that one, two with the Ravens, but Baltimore lost a lot of talent this offseason. A lot of guys, they're changing to a brand new head coach who, while he's in that Baltimore system, it might just take a while to find your footing, you know, and get going. And so I think this is one of those times where you think there's a fair amount of chatter about how well Cincinnati could have done on the market if they changed head coaches this past off season, but maybe holding on to Zack Taylor and seeing what he could do makes the most sense at this point, you know? It Baltimore really back out of the Max Cross BDO because of a failed physical. I'll put it this way. I think that there is not enough onus being placed on the Raiders because, you know, it's like the great analogy that I heard was like, oh, I did turbo tax and I thought I was going to get a $10,000 refund. So I went and bought a car. And then the government said I actually didn't get the refund and now I'm upset.

9:21And it's like, well, no, you have to wait until the thing's done. You have to wait until the money's in the bank, the checks in the mail. And, you know, I think that there were way more questions about Cross B's long term health in the NFL medical community than is being let on right now. And I think that the public perception is on the side of the Raiders at this point. But I think long term, we might see Baltimore come out of this looking a little rosier than they do right now just because it's a strange, I think it was a strange route to take procedurally. It's just different than some other guys that have had that injury in the past. And I think it's harder for teams to project and that there's a chance for re-engineering. So I think that there's a lot of issues there. You know, if you're not sure, don't spend two first round picks on it. You made the case this week that the Browns should trade miles Garrett. Do you think there's any chance to consider it? The only reason why I say yes is because you try to do your powers of like

10:23deductive reasoning. Why did they structure the contract like they did yesterday? Because miles Garrett has no trade clause. But what you did was you basically pushed all of the guaranteed money that you owe him instead of paying him right at the beginning of the league year. You're paying him like a week before the season starts. Why else would you need a two month runway between when you were going to pay him and when you are going to pay him outside of the fact that maybe you need more cash relief at that time of the year. A lot of teams are going to this model anyway, like Eagles, all their contracts look like this and the Browns GM and the Eagles director football strategy or brothers. So maybe there was something to that, right? But the only other thing I can think of is like this team is clearly rebuilding. They let a lot of guys go. They change coaching staffs. Everything is pointing towards the 2027 draft where there's going to be maybe eight first round draft pick quarterbacks available. And like I just don't know what else you could get out of Miles Garrett at this point if you're the Browns. You can still build the statue when he retires.

11:25I'm not going to change anything. You already got the sack record season like it's all there. So why not try to get like, you know, two first round picks for him, which I think you could get for him right now, you know? I don't think there's any doubt about it. I mean, based on the price tag that some of the other past pressures have earned. He's the best. He's not that old. I think they could get two ones and probably a player too. I agree. I think it would match the Parsons comp. The reason that Crosby didn't get it is because, you know, I think he's a step. I think it's probably Miles Garrett in a tier by himself. You know, if you talk to Scouts and executives around the league, they'll say he's in that Bruce Smith, Reggie White tier, right? That's the Mount Rushmore pass rush. He's going to be one of the greatest that ever did it. You know, and then you have Micah Parsons in a tier. And then there's the Max Crosby's of the world who maybe they come around once every four years instead of once every 20 years. So I still think they could get two ones in a player form. I don't, I don't have any doubt about it. Connor or from Sports Illustrated is our guest. You can follow him on X at Conor or one N in Conor, C O N O R.

12:28You made bold predictions for every NFL team recently. When it came to the Bengals, you predicted that they will draft secondary help with the 10th overall pick, namely Ohio State Safety Caleb Downs or LSU Cornerback, Montsord D'Alene. Do you have a preference between those two if either or both are there? What shook me a little bit to hear John Harbock call Downs a future Hall of Famer after the Ohio State pro day. And I mean, people forget that when he wasn't coaching special teams, he was coaching defensive backfields and knows that position really well. I'd be surprised if he's not on the board for for the Giants there too. I think that the game is going more toward like your flex, safety players and just being able to get by in your coverages, but have guys that are going to be able to really contribute to the run and to be able to cover tight ends and prevent. I mean, we saw what the Rams are doing last year, torturing people with three tight ends sets now, right? And of course, the NFL is going to follow suit and everybody copy Sean McVeigh.

13:29And so I might find more usefulness to that. And I think that's kind of where you're seeing. I mean, the Bengals have already gotten that really good kind of run stuffing safety and free agency, but I think that you can't ever have too much of that. I mean, Nick, even more, it was a game changer for the Seahawks last year. And you see how valuable that position is. Bengals fans would like Caleb Downs to still be there at 10, but we'll see. Connor, I want to give you credit for something. I think more than any other NFL national reporter, you've consistently pointed out that the Bengals don't deserve the reputation for being cheap. Do you feel like kind of the lone voice crying out in the wilderness at times? Well, it's just, it's weird to me like, you know, we see the NFL PA report cards and we see all that stuff come out. And I just think that they're bigger issues, generally speaking with other teams. And you're like, well, you know, that's weird and that's weird. And why don't we talk about that a little bit more?

14:29I mean, I just don't know like every time that there's a rub with the Bengals in particular, it seems like something has been done to disprove it, right? Like very early on in Zack Taylor's tenure. I think two of his first four years, they were top three in free agency spend in the off season. You have to double check me on that. They re-did the offensive line essentially twice. They built a practice facility. They added scouts. They paid Jamar chase anti Higgins one in one A at the top of the market. They're doing everything they can to pacify Joe and to keep him there and to keep him happy. Like, I don't know like what else do you want right? Like, they're so like, and I wrote this with when they traded for Flaco last year, there are so many teams that are just playing for eight and nine. And they'll be happy as long as they can suck out, you know, a net profit. Like if your owner is demonstrating an ability or want or a desire to win in any way, shape or form, like you have to realize how special that is.

15:29Like it's still rare. And the NFL it is. And so I don't know. I'm, I'm happy, I'm happy carving out that little niche on, on my island. I'll, I'll, I'll keep it there till the day I die. Those fans would like to see it spread. Trust me. It's just an old, right? It's, it's an old trope. And, and those things we see are hard to, to, to shake. I mean, there's still some lesson form draft analysts out there saying, like, oh, the Raiders will take a speedy wide receiver in the first round. And it's like, Al Davis has been gone. God bless the soul for how long, you know, like the things have changed, times have changed, but not according to some people. Yeah, I assume that if and one of the Bengals went a Super Bowl, they will no longer be perceived as cheap. But until then that reputation might not go away. No matter how much they spend and what they spend it on. And, you know, I, I'll just say this and it's like kind of my closing argument for this, like the small scouting staff is like an interesting example because during the Super Bowl run, I had the Bengals for, you know,

16:30you divide up the reporters. So one guy has the Rams, one guy has the Bengals and because that issue's got to go to print like the morning after the Super Bowl, right? So you have to have a Bengals win story and you have to have a Rams win story. And talking to the people who have worked for the Bengals scouting staff, who've worked for the Bengals coaching staff, the reason why you had a small staff is because you had the coaches and the staff work together. And it was possible to explain in a different way, hey, this is the kind of guy I want. Like, you know, there was a great story about this scout that was like, look at how awful this defensive tackle is and Marvin Lewis is like, no, man, that's he's doing this. And I actually need him to do that. So can we pick this guy? You know, and so there's, there's always this loss in translation, I think, between scouting and coaching and that pipeline is so critical. It's why the Rams are so good, right? It's why the 49ers are so good. But that was almost by design, like, okay, yeah, maybe it saved money, but it also helped the team draft a lot of really good players over the years, you know, but that's a, that's a rant for another time.

17:34You came to Cincinnati last year and wrote a great feature story on the friendship between Jamar Chase and T Higgins. What stood out to you and getting to know those guys? I mean, just such, I mean, there's an intentionality behind their, their way of being behind their leadership. And behind their friendship too. And I think it's, it's like, it's one of those things that's infectious, you know, I think that it, it gets a lot of people on board. There's a real lack of ego there, I think. I mean, like, there's going to be some degree of ego when you're making that much money no matter what, and you're that talented. But I think I was surprised at just their desire to want to do it here. That, that tracked with, you know, talking to Joe's parents right after they drafted him too. I think that there's a feeling of that and, and just like, I mean, they're just such regular dudes, I mean, they have like, you know, a million dollar Lamborghini, but like, we all have the same waffle house order, you know, and, uh, you know, I love that about them. So I think they're, they're really unique dudes.

18:36I went back and reread the feature T's favorite Mexican restaurant has gone on a business. No, I don't even know if he knows yet. So the day that it was funny, I forget what it was called, um, but tequila, tequila. Yes, um, and that day I went, I got to the stadium with the photography crew. And a lot of times if I'm going to do like interviews all day, I don't eat in the morning because I just don't want to be like, you know, feel bloated or anything like that. And so by the time he was describing this meal, I was so hungry. And I was like, I'm going straight there, but my, one of my best friends in the world, my college roommate lives in Cincinnati. So we had chicken and waffles right after near the red stadium. And that was really good too. So hopefully that place is still a business. Uh, I'm guessing it probably is, but yeah, T's going to be hard broke and when he learns that he can't tell. I'm not going to tell somebody's got to break it through. Uh, you picked the Bengals to win the Super Bowl a few years ago. Unfortunately, it didn't happen that time. Do you think they're going to win one in the Joeboro era?

19:38Yes. Um, I just, and, and I think it's just, it's one of those things that people need to understand. Like it doesn't always happen on a particular timeline. And I think that a lot of what this is is like the rest of the NFL has to be amenable to what's going on with you too. And like we had this argument about Joe Flacco the other day, actually, which I thought was kind of interesting. It's like, there was the Seattle Covered or three era. There was the Vic Fangio cover to era. And like, they're just certain quarterbacks that succeed better against certain trends. And, and I do think that Joe is built for what defenses are playing right now. It's just like everything's got to line up, right? Health, um, I mean, really? I mean, New England's run to the Super Bowl last year. So much of that was happenstance and luck and schedule and all that stuff. And there's just so much stuff that has to happen there. And so I think for the people that are pounding the table and saying, it's got to happen when he's, you know, 31 and 32 or whatever. Like he could win it at 38, you know, I think he's the kind of guy that would still

20:40want to play when he's that old. And it might just take a while to happen, you know, were you surprised to see him jump cutting and basically getting tackled in flag football? Yeah. Yeah. I don't know why anybody, I mean, I've been writing this for a year and it was quite a satisfying victory lap. I might say so myself that the US flag football team was always going to demolish a team of NFL players because it's a different sport. It's not the same sport, right? Joke of itch isn't going to be good at pickleball and Bryson deep chambot isn't going to be good at putt putt, right? It's different thing. And I was just surprised, no, the money was probably really good, but I was surprised that you would sign yourself up to get waxed like that by guys who are, you know what I mean? It's just like, like if you're a, if you're like a professional skier and then, you know, you want to do ski halfpipe or whatever, you know you're going to get embarrassed. It's a different sport. And so, yeah, I was surprised. I'm sure every Bengals fan was out there holding their breath like, he's don't do this anymore,

21:42you know, that's, that's terrifying. I asked Zach Taylor the other day how he felt when that was on, he was watching the NCA tournament at the time, but he said his phone was blowing up from, you know, every other coach and scouts saying, what's Baro doing, he's living his life, thankfully he did not get hurt. You know, and the other thing too is like, and this is something that Bengals fans need to think about. It's something that like, you know, you talk every fan base off the ledge about like, it's 100% injury rate sport and it's unfortunate, but like you can't live your drive to drive life being like, well, I have to cut my running back off at X Carries because this is what's going to happen. And, you know, I mean, it's just, if it's going to happen, it's going to happen, you know, and, you know, he could just as easily be hurt like falling off a curb and over the Rhine. Is that what they call it? Walking down. Yeah. Very good. You got your Cincinnati neighborhoods down. That's right. Joe said when he came back from his turf to injury, I'm not going to live my life in fear. So we have to, we have to trust that his luck is bound to change sooner or later and

22:42that the Bengals are going to get 17 regular season games out of them this year and hopefully a Super Bowl run. No doubt. Yeah. Connor, this has been fun. I always appreciate your time. Thanks so much. Keep up the great work and go orange. All right. Thanks Dan. Go orange. We'll have some fun with Joe Flacco. But first, here's a quick reminder that the Bengals booth podcast is brought to you by PayCore. Proud to be the Bengals official HR software provider by Alta fiber, future proof fiber internet designed to elevate your home, business and community to a new level. And by Kettering Health, the best care for the best fans, Kettering Health is the official health care provider of the Bengals. Several years ago, when I used to host a weekly radio show, I came up with a segment called 10 teammates in a hat. I started doing it with Major League Baseball players who had had long careers and here's how it works. I write down the name of one teammate from every team they ever played for on a slip of

23:44paper and then fold that paper up. Then, I take all of those little slips of paper, toss them in a baseball hat and have my guest blindly pull out 10 telling a little story about each of those former teammates. It's harder to do in football than baseball because fewer players last for more than 10 years. But Joe Flacco is approaching 20, making him the perfect subject for the segment. Joe Flacco has resigned with the Bengals for a 19th NFL season and I'm asking him to play a game I call 10 teammates in a hat. I have written down the name of a teammate from each of your first 18 NFL seasons. I'm going to ask you to pick out a little slip of paper, read what's on a slip of paper and then share a story or an anecdote or a memory about that former teammate. Are you ready Joe Flacco? Yes, I'm ready. I know you said it's not a test, but it does feel like you can turn into some kind of test. I don't think there are any stumpers here, but here it goes.

24:47Kyle used to check. I just got a text from Kyle last night on the way here, a group of us are in. But man, Kyle, I got a lot of stories about Kyle just playing with him because we became really good friends just hanging out in the lunchroom and talking and there's a particular story where he was kind of getting into fight with one of the guys on our team during a walk through. They're not a real fight, but they were kind of going back and forth at each other. I don't know if I want to say exactly what we said, but Kyle's a great friend and listen, he's been doing it at a high level for a really long time now. Nice to have hard everybody's too. That's right. All right. Kyle used to check was former teammate number one. Here comes former teammate number two with Joe Flacco. Real Suggs, I mean, less an unbelievable player. I brought a lot of fun energy to the locker room.

25:51My rookie year, he would always pin like these magazine clips in my locker. I don't necessarily need to say what they were of, but he felt like they were like either good luck charms or something like that. But like I said, great in the locker room and unbelievable football player. All right. We move on to former teammate number three. Feel free to drop those on the floor up, clean that. Marshall Yanda, whoo, Marshall, another one of my really close friends is just an unbelievably tough old school football player. There's nobody I'd rather be out on a football field with than this guy. Just his mentality and the toughness that he brings. You just feel like you got a partner, like a true partner and when you're out there with him, everything kind of feels that much more calm and he just kind of has that presence

26:52to him that allows you to settle into the game and go do what you want to do. That's quite a compliment. Yeah. Nobody he'd rather be out in the field with. All right. Use check, Suggs, Yanda, former teammate number four. Garrett Wilson. Man, I mean, this, he brings up just like some cool memories with some of those young guys. You know, I want to say it was my last year in New York. His athleticism jumps out of you right away. I mean, I remember when we first got him in the building and he was breaking guys down in one-on-ones and we were just kind of looking at each other in a quarterback room like, okay, I think we got something special. But I mean, the thing about him is just his personality and like the life that he brings into a room and, you know, kind of always walking around with a smile on his face and brightening everybody's day up. All right. Your final year in New York is first year in New York. That's right. We move on to former teammate number five. Lamar Jackson. Wow. I think the memories I have of Lamar are sitting in the QB room together.

27:57It was me, him, and RG-3 and just kind of like smiling about certain things, looking at each other, smiling and obviously there was a lot going on with that relationship or not really the relationship, but what was made maybe about it just because I was still playing there and still wanted to play there and they drafted him. But yeah, I mean, Lamar is a quiet, reserved at least in the locker room and just a football player. What jumps out about him is when he gets on a football field, you can tell that he fielded at home and really loves to play the game. Three great running quarterbacks, RG-3, Lamar Jackson and Joe Flask. That's right. All right. Former teammate number six. Von Miller. Wow. Well, he's one of those guys that like when you go to practice with them, he ruins your whole practice. Much kind of like Miles Garrett and Cleveland, like it was very hard to practice when Miles was on the other side just because he'd be on you in a couple in one second.

29:02Von was very much like that. You know, he'd been around that corner and the play would be over. Now, you have to get used to just playing on, but he made it very hard. Miles Garrett's in this hat. I don't know if you'll pull that name or not, but we still get a few to go. Steve Smith, senior, man, he's right up there with probably some of the best wide receivers ever. A small guy with a lot of heart, a ton of strength on the field. So easy to throw, too. I mean, listen, he lives every day of his life with passion and you can tell that on the football field because you know, when you're out there with practice, when you're out there with practice with him every day, like he's as serious as anybody and just takes his craft so serious and works as hard as anybody I've seen and another, I mean, less than

30:02these guys are all been pretty incredible, but getting the throw to him, I was definitely a privilege. He was an unbelievable, unbelievable player and just, I mean, I think we can all see it. Everybody could see it. Just the fire that he brought and the intensity that he brought. Feisty comes to mind with Steve Smith, senior. All right. Here comes former teammate number eight. Sam Darnold, Sam was great. It was a unique experience with him in New York. I kind of came in on the back end there and I think the thing that stood out to me about Sam was just his maturity at such a young age to be able to kind of handle everything that was going on there and not let it affect him like it would most people. And I think that you've been able to now see that resiliency a handful of years later. But once again, I mean, a lot of the memories with these guys comes down to hanging out with them in a single corner of the locker room or going into the city for, you know, a sushi

31:06dinner or something like that. But yeah, the thing about him that stood out was just probably that underlying resiliency that he has. Was it cool for you to see him go through that fire in New York and then win a Super Bowl last year? It was because I mean, it wasn't just in New York, like, you know, he's obviously had to stick it out for a few years now. And I just think when you've been in this sport or just in a sport or in any profession for a long time and maybe things aren't exactly as you would had planned, it can be tough to stay confident and ready and all those things. And the fact that he was able to do that was pretty incredible. All right. We get to former teammate number nine with Joe Flacco. Alec Pierce. Yeah. Listen, I was just pulling out. I have a handful. I don't have a, like, I never did a bunch of Jersey swaps or even like in the locker room after the year, but he's one that I have. And I was just pulling him out because I recently moved and his, I can picture his Jersey

32:09that I just moved it down into my basement where hopefully I'm going to be hanging it. But yeah, I was so impressed with Alec and just the head he has on his shoulders. But like, you know, I think he's such a fast, explosive wide receiver and a lot of times I think when people think of those, they don't necessarily think of like the skill that can also come with that. But he's kind of like struck me as a very strong, complete wide receiver right away. And yeah, listen, I love the few games I got to play with him. Drop back and throw it up. And that's why I have his Jersey framed in my house. A former UC bearcat who just got a gigantic contract. That's right. I know good for him. Alec Pierce. All right. This is our tenth teammate in a hat. We've got a bunch of slips of paper left. Billy Anderson. Oh, there we go. From your rookie year. Yeah. It's funny. I was out here in training camp the year I played in Indy and he was here. He happened to be here.

33:09The thing I remember about him is, man, he had some mits on him and like that's what he would do. You know, he would set back and just get those hands on guys. Another infectious personality. But man, he could, he had those hands that if he got on you, good luck. You weren't getting away. There are names in this hat left like Ray Lewis, Ed Reid, Ted Caris. Does it reinforce how special this ride has been when you hear a list like that? Yeah. I think it is about the people at the end of the day too. That's what you start to realize. It's about all those relationships that you've made. I think there's probably certain people that you wish you got to play with when I was, like I wish I got to play with when I maybe I was at a little bit different stage in my life. You know, some of those guys, I only got to play with when I was 23, 24 years old, you know, and there's other things swirling around in my head. So you don't get to, you don't get to realize the weight of it. Now listen, like I think when Ray Lewis walks in the locker room and Ed Reid and Trell

34:11Suggs, I think you do kind of realize the significance to a certain point. But yeah, you still, there's still a little piece of you that takes it for granted. And nowadays you don't really do that anymore. Just because you do. You start to realize how, how cool it is that you've been able to do that. So yeah, definitely feel very fortunate. It's been a remarkable run and we are delighted in Cincinnati that it's going to continue in 2026. Welcome back. I appreciate it. Thanks for the time. Yeah. Good to be here. That's going to do it for this episode of the Bengals Booth Podcast brought to you by pay core, proud to be the Bengals official HR software provider by all to fiber, future proof, fiber internet designed to elevate your home, business and community to a new level. And by catering health, the best care for the best fans, catering health is the official health care provider of the Bengals. If you haven't done so already, please subscribe to this podcast. And if you have a minute, give it a rating or share a comment that helps more Bengals fans find us.

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