Tuesday was a busy day for the Cincinnati Bengals at the 2020 NFL combine.
Not only did Bengals head coach Zac Tayor and director of player personnel Duke Tobin make the media rounds, notable prospects such as Joe Burrow did too.
With an onslaught of quotes and notes available, it’s easy to miss items. Here’s a look at the biggest takeaways.
Burrow shuts down narratives and mentions A.J. Green
Burrow was smooth in his delivery Tuesday, fighting back against the media-created narratives that he wouldn’t want to play for the Bengals. He does, noted it’d be nice to be close to home and even said he wants to play with A.J. Green.
As we noted, this whole ordeal will only make Bengals fans love him more.
Tua’s healthy and met with the Bengals
Alabama passer Tua Tagovailoa checked out just fine medically in Indianapolis, which could again have him in the conversation for the top three. Interestingly, he noted he’s already met with the Bengals. For now, he’ll go through another medical check next month and hopes to throw at a pro day. Based on sheer talent alone, the Bengals figure to keep him in the discussion.
Don’t worry about trading No. 1
Tobin didn’t 100 percent rule out trading the draft’s top pick — but he came close. The Bengals like the idea of having their pick of the entire class at the very top. They also aren’t blind — quarterbacks matter more than anything else in this league. While the return might be historic, don’t expect the Bengals to make serious headway in trade talks.
A Dalton return is still on the table
In an odd twist, Tobin wouldn’t rule out keeping Andy Dalton on the roster next year. Considering that would come at a cost of $17.7 million and create unnecessary attention, it’s hard to see happening. Dalton wasn’t happy with getting benched at all and still wants to start in this league. Barring something shocking, this is just the Bengals trying to keep leverage in any potential Dalton trade.
Bengals could be more aggressive in free agency
One of the most noteworthy quotes of the day came from Tobin when he suggested the team is guaranteed to spend in free agency. That isn’t totally unusual for a quote during a media session. But those around the team keep hinting at it being a big part of the plan. With a rookie quarterback contract to build around and a newer head coach still getting whatever he wants, it could end up being very interesting to see how the Bengals play the open market.
Burrow isn’t concerned about Bengals
Sounds like an odd thing to even have to say, right? Burrow likes the idea of A.J. Green. He likes the idea of playing close to home. It goes on and on. When a reporter asked Burrow if he has concerns about the Bengals, Burrow said the following, per The Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr.:
“I wouldn’t say there’s any concerns. I want to learn a lot about a lot of different teams. For these interviews, just talk ball. That’s what I enjoy doing. I look forward to meeting with the Bengals here in the next couple of days. I’m looking forward to talking ball and seeing what they are about, seeing the offense that they run and see how they think about ball. So, that’s what these interviews are about. Just getting to know the people and the process.”
Talk about shutting down a narrative in the first sentence and then switching up the topic well.
A.J. Green isn’t leaving the Bengals
Fans already know this. Green isn’t leaving and both Tobin and Taylor made a point to stress that again when the questions came up.
“We’re still working through the process with him, but we know he’s going to be a Bengal come September,” Taylor said, according to The Athletic’s Jay Morrison.
Burrow’s hand size doesn’t matter
We hit on this right when the story broke — Joe Burrow’s film doesn’t suggest anything relating to issues with a small hand size. And Tobin has railed against the measurement in the past. He did so again Tuesday.
“I’m not a big fan of how they measure it or whether it is going to say whether or not he can play or not,” Tobin said, per The Athletic’s Jay Morrison. “I’ve gone on and on and on about hand size actually up on this stage in the past. You can pull out the archives.”
