Bengals Need Vet LB Now, Rookies Risk

0:00On April 7th, the bingles are staring down a weak linebacker spot heading into the draft, with last year's rookies Demetrius Knight Jr. in Barrett. Carter ranked as the bottom two among starters, league-wide by PFF. Those two played heavy snaps, but struggled big time behind the shaky line and secondary. Rookies often need times to adjust, and these guys had a new coordinator and a head coach juggling both sides of the ball. Still, banking on them bouncing back this season feels like a huge risk for Zack Taylor, especially when the defense needs immediate help across all. Levels. Fans and analysts are pushing for action now, rather than hoping a tenth overall draft pick, like Ohio State's Sunny Styles, turns into an instant star, or waiting for post-draft scraps. Those reagent leftovers won't fix a glaring hole. The smart move is signing a veteran right away from guys, still out there, like Bobby Wagner, Lavante David, or Matt Milano, all proven tacklers on the rest in.

1:01Marked as things cool off, that plugs the gap and frees up draft focus elsewhere. With the draft just weeks out, every day they wait shrinks their options, but grabbing proven help now sets them up to compete without the rookie. Gamble. Football news, powered by AI, this is NFL News Today.