The National Football League Player's Association officially released 2025 report cards for all of the league's 32 teams, and the Cincinnati Bengals came in dead last in a couple of key categories.
1,695 various players from across the NFL's landscape provided the information for the report cards, which are used to help players make important career decisions, while also working to raise the standards of organizations across the league.
Treatment of families and food are major areas of improvement for the Bengals
In the "Treatment of families" category, Cincinnati received an 'F-', which was the lowest mark league-wide. Only one other team -- the Jacksonville Jaguars -- received an 'F' here. Clearly, the Bengals have some work to do in this area when it comes to making the families of players feel more welcome.
The Bengals were also the only team to receive an 'F' in the "Food/Dining area" department. Though the team has made improvements in this area, they obviously still have a long way to go. Cincinnati was also dead-last in the "Nutritionist/Dietician" category, with many players apparently unhappy with the quality and quantity of meals provided by the organization.
Here's a quick recap of Cincinnati's shortcomings provided by the NFLPA:
"There are still a few areas where the team lags behind the rest of the league. First, the players want to see continued improvements to the food program, including a full-time dietitian to maximize their training, and an even greater number of meals provided for them at the facility.
"Another major concern is the lack of support for players’ families. The Bengals are one of only three teams without gameday daycare, one of 10 without a family room, and the only team in the league to provide neither. They also score very low on the quality of the post-game family area, and the number of family events the team organizes remains low."
Clearly, the Bengals need to figure out a way to establish a more inclusive, and convenient, atmosphere for the families of players. Offering gameday daycare, or establishing a designated family room would be a good start.
It wasn't all bad for the Bengals, though. Cincinnati received several variations of 'A's' on the report card, including for head coach, training staff, team travel and the locker room, which was completely revamped last offseason. In fact, the Bengals were one of just four teams to receive an 'A+' for their locker room.
Overall, the Bengals ranked 24th out of the 32 teams in the league, which represents an improvement from last year when they were ranked 26th. Now that the key areas of improvement have been highlighted again, hopefully the Bengals will continue to move in the right direction and get some higher grades next year.