CINCINNATI — In the aftermath of Sunday’s loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, Joe Burrow pointed out what the final five weeks of the season still mean for his team.
“The cornerstones of this organization are going to be remembered by more than this season,” Burrow said. “We will be remembered by how we handle this.”
All this talk of cornerstones prompted a follow-up to Burrow on Thursday.
Who does he think are the cornerstones of the organization?
Understandably, he didn’t want to start listing names. Instead, he said that will be answered between now and Jan. 9 in Pittsburgh.
“I don’t have an answer for you right now, but the next five weeks will say a lot,” Burrow said. “The NFL is a ‘what have you done for me lately?’ league. Doesn’t matter what we did last year. It’s what can you do now? Some guys have played great. Others haven’t.”
If you were picking five players to build around for the next five years, who would they be?
Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase top the list, of course. Chase will be the highest-paid receiver in football before long. The Bengals have done a nice job finding bookend offensive tackles with Orlando Brown Jr. and first-round pick Amarius Mims. After that, the answers get dicey.
Sure, Trey Hendrickson is the obvious choice, but he’s entering the last year of a deal he’s not happy with, and Thursday was his 30th birthday. It’s hard to call any aging player with an uncertain contract and long-term outlook a cornerstone, even if he’s their best defensive player by a country mile.
An asterisk follows the rest of the list of players, who all come with questions: Dax Hill (ACL, new position), Logan Wilson (knee/middle of a bad defense), Chase Brown (a running back?), Ted Karras (31, contract year in ’25), Ryan Rehkow (a rookie punter — is this where it’s at?!) or Tee Higgins (free agency beckons). Take your pick, the Bengals need difference-makers. They need pillars.
The Bengals are reeling, on the fringe of elimination from a playoff picture they thought would look much different in December. They are playing for pride when they had expected to be playing for a Lombardi.
The uncertainty about the true organizational rocks at this point makes for one daunting, critical offseason.
Joe Burrow speaks to the media. https://t.co/VTP73fnIWs
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) December 5, 2024
What unfolds over the next five games will go a long way in determining just how daunting the process will be.
Or, to use Burrow’s terms, what players will be the cornerstones of the organization?
If looking for players to build around, specifically for a defense facing significant change, there’s almost no certainty. No name will be off-limits for discussion to cut, trade or draft over.
“Oftentimes, you all have watched me sit up here for six years and fight through a lot of adversity,” defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo said. “I see what’s on the other side of it. You see the people you want to do it with. Right now, this serves as an opportunity to evaluate the people you want to continue to do it with.”
Here’s a look at the players with the most opportunity to impact the approach of Duke Tobin and the personnel staff when the season ends — not necessarily those who will rise to the level of Burrow, Chase, Mims and Brown, but those who will ease the pain of all the positions the club must address.
CBs Josh Newton and Cam Taylor-Britt
Newton, the fifth-round pick, turned heads in the preseason, and when he emerged as a playmaker against the Los Angeles Chargers after an injury to DJ Turner and the benching of Taylor-Britt, a flow of optimism that he could grab the starting role surfaced.
What happened against Pittsburgh didn’t help matters. He got caught in outside leverage of a Cover 0 bust late in the game and got beaten deep by George Pickens and then dove inside when quarterback Justin Fields kept the ball to close out the game on third-and-4. Ugly rookie mistakes elicited a phone call from Anarumo after the game.
Russell Wilson so clutch.
📺: #PITvsCIN on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/90QlkcfIbc— NFL (@NFL) December 1, 2024
“He was one of the first guys I spoke to last night on the phone because I know how much it means to him,” Anarumo said. “He’s a very serious guy and really cares, as I mentioned, like all our guys do. Cares about his teammates and what he’s doing out there.”
Newton’s attitude and approach have been the first things coaches praise when discussing his career outlook. They love his confidence and intensity. The question will be whether he can translate that to consistency and production. Sunday wasn’t a great start, but if steady progress continues over the next five games and he starts to eliminate plays like the last two big splashes against Pittsburgh, the opportunity is in front of him.
The Bengals badly need an answer at cornerback. Taylor-Britt was supposed to be an answer, but he has been benched multiple times this season. These five games offer an opportunity for an impactful redemption arc for Taylor-Britt, but significant damage has been done. He’s playing to save his status with the same urgency Newton is playing to prove he deserves status.
Dax Hill was coming on before tearing his ACL in September, so he seems destined to land as one of the three starting corners next season, with a good chance of bumping inside to slot.
How many new corners will need to be added in the offseason? At least one with expectations of being a rock-solid starter. The need for more attention to the position partially depends on what happens with Newton over the next month. He could play his way into the starter conversation or outside of the picture.
DE Myles Murphy
The fact we’ve reached the final month of Murphy’s second season and still have not seen a bit of consistent production — he has touched the quarterback only once in 206 snaps this season — shows how bleak the outlook is. Still, the number 206 stands out as much as one.
He has not started a game. He has never gotten a full opportunity to turn it loose and see what happens.
He has played between 20 and 34 snaps in every game this year. For those begging for more playing time to see what he has, Anarumo would contend those snap counts provide more than enough opportunity.
“We can see what he can do in 30-some-odd snaps,” Anarumo said.
Murphy ranks 87th in win percentage of 102 edge rushers with at least 120 pas-rush snaps this year, via PFF. Until Murphy does more with his current allotment, it doesn’t sound like Anarumo is keen on giving him more opportunities. Still, the Bengals need to know what they have in Murphy and if he can be considered a starting option in 2025. Even with progress, the Bengals will need depth at edge opposite Hendrickson (if he stays on board). A breakout month from Murphy will lessen the pressure to use significant cash or draft capital at edge rusher.
OL Cody Ford
This might be an odd name to see make the list, but it’s one the Bengals’ staff has had an eye on over the past month. Ford has earned trust while filling in for Brown — to the point he displaced Cordell Volson in the lineup against Pittsburgh. The coaches like what they’ve seen from him, and a strong final month could make him either a lock as the sixth offensive lineman next year or even penciled in as a starter. He’ll kick back out to tackle with Brown doubtful battling his fibula injury.
The Bengals have decisions to make at both guard spots in the offseason, with Volson and Alex Cappa struggling to hold the pocket. Having another confident answer in the fray could lessen the need for extreme aggressiveness at the guard position when so many other needs must be filled.
DTs Kris Jenkins Jr. and McKinnley Jackson
Jenkins, the second-round pick out of Michigan, was drafted to become a cornerstone and captain, just as he was for the Wolverines. Expecting him to assume that role already would be a fast track, but they would at least like to enter 2025 knowing they can confidently boast a solid starting defensive tackle.
Jackson was asked to be a role player as a run-stuffing defensive tackle. The Bengals’ run defense hasn’t been a massive problem, but neither has splashed onto the scene.
“The experience has served them really well,” head coach Zac Taylor said. “Just getting to play in this league against different linemen, different schemes. Obviously, they’ve got a lot of reps. So you see those guys grow, and so that’s been beneficial. I like what they’re about. They’ve got the right mentality, the right approach. Played a lot this year, and so that’s encouraging.”
If one of the two can hit fast-forward on their progress over the second half of the season, the personnel department could count on them to step into a starting role next year. If more of the same continues, it’s fair to think the Bengals will be in the market for two defensive tackles this offseason, with B.J. Hill hitting free agency and Sheldon Rankins a cut candidate after a rough first season in Cincinnati.
That won’t be cheap, no matter how you cut it. A Jenkins or Jackson rise would be a game-changer for the interior urgency.
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(Photo of Myles Murphy: Brandon Sloter / Getty Images)
