DJ Turner's ties to contenders could doom Bengals if they aren't careful

It's not that DJ Turner was deliberately signaling to the Cincinnati Bengals that they don't have any leverage in their contract extension negotiations with him. It's just that, when Turner outlined his football journey in a recent interview, it became all the more apparent that the Bengals need him more than he needs them.

Throughout the offseason, speculation has grown that Cincinnati could be in the market for a boundary cornerback in the draft with the 10th overall pick. The implication is either Turner or Dax Hill will be shown the door in due time.

Problem for the Bengals' front office is, DJ and Dax share an agent. They look like two rare draft hits from recent years. If you can't keep one, can you keep the other?

See what I mean? And at least in Turner's case, he has greener pastures to flee to thanks to built-in connections with current NFL head coaches.

History with Mike Macdonald & Jesse Minter gives DJ Turner leverage in Bengals contract negotiations

This never really dawned on me at all, but when Turner sat down for an extensive chat with The 33rd Team's Ari Meirov, he reminded the general public of his most noteworthy collegiate background:

"We all knew. I mean if you just look at it, my sophomore year we went 2-4 when COVID hit. Coach Macdonald came, and what did we go, 14-2 or something? And lost to Georgia in the CFP? And then people don't even know this. After that COVID year, we had the most people hit the portal in the country. So he made that happen off the strip. […] I love Coach Macdonald. So then I was like, alright I'm good now. He leaves! Coach Minter came, and just picked up where we left off. Me and Coach Minter, we’ve got a good relationship, too. That was the first time to where I really noticed I was like OK they're NFL dudes. […] They ran it like an NFL program. Coach Harbaugh, what he does on the Chargers is exactly what we did at Michigan."

Prior to taking the reins as Baltimore Ravens head coach from the esteemed, Super Bowl champion John Harbaugh, Jesse Minter made his hay in the NFL under Jim Harbaugh with the Chargers. Minter had the Bolts defense playing at a top-flight level the last two seasons as defensive coordinator, and actually served on John's Ravens staff from 2017 through 2020.

During that first stint in Baltimore, Minter overlapped with Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald before their switch-out as defensive coordinator at Michigan. When MacDonald left to be the Ravens' DC from 2022-23, Minter took his place.

Sorry if that's all very confusing, but the point is, Macdonald just led the Seahawks to a Super Bowl win. He is widely considered the best schematic mind in the sport on defense. Vic Fangio and Brian Flores have been in that discussion for many years now, but Minter has squarely launched himself into the mix, too.

Seattle just watched starting cornerback Riq Woolen walk this offseason to play for Fangio in Philly. The Ravens have ex-Bengal Chidobe Awuzie on a one-year deal.

You don't think Macdonald and/or Minter might be kicking the tires on Turner in next year's free agency? Even if the franchise tag is deployed, Turner is a tag-and-trade candidate in that scenario.

And think about how appealing it'd be for Turner to go play for one of those two franchises, which are far better run than the Bengals are. Heck, Jim Harbaugh's Chargers could very well covet Turner in 2027. They're not exactly flush with high-end cornerback talent.

So between the fact that Cincinnati badly needs one of its recent draftees to sign a second contract, the fact that Turner shares an agent with another extension candidate at his position in Hill, and the fact that Turner could be very happy playing under Macdonald or Minter in Seattle or LA, the Bengals have minimal leverage.

Loyalty to the team that drafted you and gave you your first shot in the NFL only goes so far. Cincinnati should keep DJ Turner at any cost. The question is, will the powers that be go far enough to ensure Turner stays, or will they let superior organizations like the Seahawks and Ravens play up their coaching situations and ultimately outbid them?

I think we all know the answer if the Bengals are slow on the draw to open up their checkbooks.