Finding the words to describe the latest Cincinnati Bengals news proved more elusive than usual. There hasn't been much to celebrate since the first day of the NFL free agency legal tampering window.
Orlando Brown Jr. is a fine left tackle, a model citizen by all accounts, and is grateful that the Bengals gave him a shot to continue playing the position after he started his career in Baltimore on the right side. He did play left tackle for the Chiefs before landing in Cincinnati, but anyway, let's not get lost in the intro here.
In a vacuum, any supporter of the Bengals would be pretty cool with Brown signing a contract extension through the 2028 season, which the team announced on Thursday.
Except we're not in a vacuum. This is real life. And the way Brown's deal went down, per the team's widely available, linked-above press release shows just how little the Bengals have changed their ways. So much for that "all-in" offseason.
Orlando Brown Jr. extension coincides with Bengals' inert free agency in latest case of organizational malpractice
I wrote an article titled, "Bengals refusing Joe Burrow restructure obliterates offseason dreams" on Feb. 25 that I've constantly plugged on Stripe Hype as free agency unfolded.
It compares how the Bengals and the Los Angeles Rams do business in very different ways. How the Rams went truly all-in and beat Cincinnati in Super Bowl LVI because of it. And how the Rams keep doing that on an annual basis.
Not mentioned in that piece (it was another one, can't remember where) was LA's own noteworthy contract extension for safety Quentin Lake. He's locked up through 2028 on a three-year extension.
The difference? Lake's contract was announced on New Year's Day.
That's right. While the Bengals played out a meaningless schedule for most of last year and had all the time in the world to take care of Brown, they sat on their hands. The Rams were about to embark on another deep playoff run and still managed to get their business done with Lake early.
It's a little different in the sense that Brown was still under contract for 2026 before this extension, but the principle is the same.
Cincinnati could've gotten a new deal for OBJ on the books sooner. The benefit to that is a clearer picture of what your future salary cap years look like, and thus can inform how aggressive you get on the free agent market.
After the Bengals' commendable signings of Bryan Cook and Boye Mafe, they've done nothing to upgrade the roster. Their defense still looks bad on paper, particularly on the front seven.
We'll wait to see if Brown's new contract is structured to give Cincinnati some cap room for 2026. Regardless, you would've loved to know that information, you know, before free agency opened. Plus, any amount Brown's deal would save against the cap pales in comparison to the $19+ million savings Joe Burrow's restructure would create.
You can't even call the Bengals' front office tone-deaf anymore. They know exactly what they're doing. And they don't care.
Let me learn you something big, reader, on the three most noteworthy personnel moves the Bengals have made in recent days:
- Bryan Cook: Cincinnati native who wanted to play for his hometown team. not hard to connect the dots as to why he landed with the Bengals — and it has nothing to do with the personnel department's recruiting abilities (or lack thereof).
- Boye Mafe: Gets the chance to start at defensive end after being a rotational player in Seattle. A Trey Hendrickson-esque upside bet by the Bengals on a free agent who's cool with a front-loaded contract, because he could very well test the market again (via requested release/trade) before his three-year deal expires.
- Orlando Brown Jr.: Negotiated a contract extension himself.
See the theme here? The players the Bengals have acquired or re-upped on have had to come to them to get a deal done.
This is not a franchise hunting up every possible avenue to improve the roster. This is football operation-killing, family-wrecking inertia.
I use that seemingly melodramatic phrasing on the latter point to underscore the seriousness and consequences of all this. If the Bengals don't make the playoffs for a fourth year in a row, heads will roll. Otherwise, Burrow will force his way out of town, and even more heads will roll.