The Cincinnati Bengals are entering a watershed moment as a franchise, and Duke Tobin appears to be taking the same approach as any other year. Not a great sign!
Now listen, is Tobin fully responsible for the Bengals missing the playoffs for the last three years? Not really. Much of it falls on an ownership and the nepotist leaders who flank Mike Brown. Still, Tobin has certain elements within his control, and he's done a poor overall job in that span.
What's this annually same approach, you ask? It was news to me, believe it or not, based on what Tobin said Tuesday at the NFL Scouting Combine.
Duke Tobin claims he's all-in every single year, which doesn't bode well for pivotal Bengals offseason
Tobin acknowledged that the Bengals have the resources to attack the offseason with an aggression that Joe Burrow would indubitably welcome. However, a quote later on from his presser in Indianapolis was the ultimate red flag:
"I've been doing this a long time. I've never not been all in ... That's what we do. We want to be all in."
— Caleb Noe (@CalebNoeTV) February 24, 2026
- Duke Tobin, Bengals Dir. of Player Personnel#Bengals @WCPO pic.twitter.com/3qrigeBktK
Does Duke Tobin really know what "all-in" means? Is he so insulated from outside society and the larger NFL community that he believes he went all-in last offseason?
Because by my count, the Bengals signed exactly one outside free agent of note in March, which was defensive tackle T.J. Slaton. Nothing about his production profile in Green Bay suggested he'd be an elite run defender. Cincinnati's personnel department pretended like he was. The on-field results of the Bengals ranking DFL in run defense last season speak for themselves.
Slaton looms as a possible salary cap casualty. I've advocated for the Bengals to get not one, but two new starters at defensive tackle to help compensate for Tobin and his minions whiffing on Slaton in free agency.
Bengals mock offseason. Adjusted @TheAthletic formula to have IRL cap space.
— Matt Fitzgerald (@MattFitz_gerald) February 6, 2026
A real defense. Smart. Versatile. Menacing. Front seven is loaded.
$19 million left.
This is so doable if the front office can just admit they've botched most of the last two drafts/free-agent periods pic.twitter.com/dVUgfCKshM
YEAHBUT they signed Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins to extensions last offseason! So what? You don't get credit for making decisions that take zero critical thought. Any goodwill from that was undone by leaving millions upon millions of free-agent money on the table, further alienating Trey Hendrickson, and immediately alienating 2025 first-round pick Shemar Stewart.
Let's touch on Shemar, shall we? If Duke Tobin was all-in every year, why did he spent four consecutive first rounds drafting players who had no expectations to start as rookies?
You can't sit there and tell me with a straight face that you expect Shemar Stewart, who had 4.5 sacks in three years at Texas A&M and missed TWENTY-SIX POINT NINE PERCENT OF HIS TACKLE ATTEMPTS, to ball out as an NFL rookie. You just can't.
My bad. Seems like the CAPS LOCK IS GETTING STUCK. Maybe it's due to the frustration Duke Tobin causes year in and year out around this time on the NFL calendar.
There's little elsewhere to go but up for Tobin and the powers that be who decide what the Bengals' 2026 roster looks like after last offseason's full-blown debacle. A 6-11 record won't cut it this year. Burrow will be requesting a trade.
Come on, Duke. Actually go all-in this time around.