2 Ravens defenders ready to remind Bengals of roster mistakes

Everyone is excited about the return of the Cincinnati Bengals’ starting quarterback, Joe Burrow, to the lineup. The return comes against the division’s first-place Baltimore Ravens on Thanksgiving night. 

Unfortunately, there are a couple of defensive players who risk embarrassingly raining on the Bengals’ parade. 

An old face in a new place and a rising rookie at positions where the Bengals have struggled this season could add to the misery of a disappointing season this holiday season. 

Chidobe Awuzie back to haunt team that let him walk

The Ravens signed Awuzie as a free agent this offseason after a disappointing one-year stint with the Tennessee Titans, in which he only played eight games. 

Before that, Awuzie spent three years manning the Bengals’ secondary. He was the team’s best cover corner on a defense that helped Cincinnati get to the Super Bowl and two consecutive AFC Championship games. 

Awuzie has started five games this year, appearing in nine. His presence proved critical while Marlon Humphrey was out with an injury. And even after Humphrey’s return to the lineup, Awuzie plays a crucial role on the defense, doing so with fewer snaps.

The Bengals could have used a dependable, veteran boundary corner behind Cam Taylor-Britt when the coaching staff wanted to go in another direction several times this season. 

According to Football Insight, Bengals cornerback DJ Turner ranks sixth in the fewest yards allowed in man coverage. Awuzie ranks seventh.

Somewhere, there exists a universe in which Doctor Strange and Clea have torn a portal into, in which Awuzie is a valuable third outside corner in Cincinnati, or perhaps he and DJ Turner are the Bengals' starting cornerbacks, with Dax Hill starting in the slot as he did at Michigan. But that world is not one we exist in.

Now that Awuzie is helping to man the Ravens’ secondary and helping them become the best team in the north, it is yet another reminder that the Bengals had talent and depth in the organization but failed to hold on to it. Awuzie joins other former defensive players like Jessie Bates, Germaine Pratt, and even Akeem Davis-Gaither, who the Bengals let walk in and have had a modicum of either personal or team success. 

If Awuzie goes out and performs well against the Bengals, it will be another reminder of what could have been, continuing to haunt the 2024 and 2025 defenses of seasons past. 

Malaki Starks is a rookie defender who could’ve helped Bengals this year

Another reminder of what could have been is watching rookie safety Malaki Starks against a team that, before Sunday’s performance against the Patriots, was in dire need of an upgrade to the position. 

Many fans linked Starks with the Bengals, knowing that safety was a position of need. The Bengals’ front office thought otherwise. That thinking is part of the reason why the defense is where it is today. 

Fortunately, Starks’ rookie season has not been on par with that of another Baltimore first-round safety, Kyle Hamilton. Most unfortunately, however, he has made a much more significant impact on the Ravens than Cincinnati’s first-round pick, Shemar Stewart. 

Stewart has six tackles and one quarterback hit in five games played. Starks has 59 tackles, one tackle for loss, one QB hit, and two interceptions. For those keeping score, a rookie safety has one more tackle for loss, and the same amount of QB hits as a defensive lineman drafted 10 spots ahead of him. 

No, we are not in our feelings when pointing out these facts. And we are not even upset with Stewart for his lack of production and spatial awareness when playing the game of football. Those results are what we all should have expected after watching him in college. Stewart should not be in this situation, as our ire is finally where it should be. 

What we would have expected from Starks in stripes is what he’s doing in Baltimore. Perhaps even more given how underwhelming the front seven has been this season. 

At one stretch, Starks was Pro Football Focus’ highest-graded defender for two consecutive weeks. Now close your eyes and imagine that happening for a Bengals’ defensive rookie.

We mentioned that we would love to see Turner and Awuzie as the starting outside corners with Hill in the slot. Now imagine that lineup with Starks as one of the safeties. All of the mock drafts floating around would have a much different tenor. 

Instead of linking the Bengals to Ohio State's Caleb Downs, we could focus on further improving the offensive line, as in one of the latest mock drafts to hit the streets.

While he is having an understated rookie season, Starks’ ascension is being noted in Charm City and around the NFL. 

As we lament the front office’s decision to select Shemar Stewart in the first round, a starting rookie safety for one of Cincinnati’s divisional foes making plays against them would only exacerbate feelings of resentment among the fanbase.

Winnable game spoiled by painful reminders?

Even with the Baltimore Ravens on a five-game winning streak, it is not outlandish to think that a win is on the table for the Bengals on Thanksgiving night. 

However, a loss served with sides of Awuzie and Starks would be a very unpleasant dish. Critical and timely plays from a former Bengals cornerback or standout defensive rookie would be a salt-in-the-wound type of moment. And we all know that too much sodium is bad for our health. 

Hopefully, Bengals fans won’t have to worry about that, and we can all enjoy our tryptophan-sparked food comas as the Bengals offense, led by Joe Burrow, cooks Baltimore’s secondary. 

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