The more things change for the better for the Cincinnati Bengals, the more some unsavory things stay the same. Sounds like fans can look forward to another contract spat between a star player in DJ Turner and the front office headlined by Duke Tobin.
Or at least that's how Tobin came across during the Bengals' annual luncheon on Monday. Turner is coming off a phenomenal 2025 campaign where he established himself as an elite cover cornerback. Alas, that didn't motivate the front office to give him a contract extension.
To be fair, the Bengals have gotten busy this offseason. The Dexter Lawrence trade alone, never mind the myriad other additions to the defense, is reason enough to be bullish on the 2026 season.
In the midst of all that positive momentum on the eve veterans reporting to training camp, though, Tobin splashed a bit of cold water on all the hype.
Tobin takes a tepid tone on Turner contract extension
When asked about the status of new contracts for players like DJ Turner, his fellow cornerback Dax Hill, and running back Chase Brown, Tobin was diplomatic and rather dismissive, as captured by Fox19's Joe Danneman:
“I’m not going to make any predictions about future contracts. We have everyone signed up right now, which is really good. It's a good feeling. I think everyone is locked in on the season, and we'll see what the future holds. But right now, our focus is winning and winning now. I'm not going to give any potential contract details or anything like that. Everyone's under contract, and we want the good players to stay here long term. That's always the way we've been.”
At least all the players mentioned aren't anticipated to cause drama by refusing to practice.
But yes, Duke. Everyone is under contract. We know this. What's frustrating is the fact that Cincinnati had two massive distractions last offseason due to contract disputes.
For the uninitiated, 2025 first-round pick Shemar Stewart took until late July to sign his rookie deal and didn't participate in any of the practices leading up to then. Stewart proceeded to flop in his injury-riddled maiden pro campaign.
Then there was franchise cornerstone Trey Hendrickson. The Bengals refused to extend him in either of the prior two offseasons despite the fact that he was coming off a 17.5-sack season on each occasion.
Hendrickson held in at camp, wound up signing on for a pay raise, and promptly fled to the AFC North rival Baltimore Ravens in free agency.
What a surprise that the Bengals were terrible on defense last season, eh?
Paying DJ would cement Bengals' radical identity shift
The good news is, this DJ Turner situation is far different than what was going down with Stewart or Hendrickson.
Cincinnati spent the offseason focusing on scoring new, proven defensive players. That's where all the negotiating focus had to go for a long while. Figuring out the math of how to fit everyone under the salary cap included the unprecedented move to restructure Joe Burrow's contract.
Safety Bryan Cook's impact will benefit the entire secondary, Turner included. Lawrence will be a force multiplier in the trenches and elevate the play of fellow newcomers Boye Mafe at defensive end, second-round rookie Cashius Howell, and defensive tackle Jonathan Allen.
All that said, Tobin and Co. have had plenty of daylight between the Burrow restructure and Howell signing his rookie deal in early June to round out the draft class. There's no excuse at this point.
Turner's eventual extension has no real bearing on this season's cap picture, as he's in the final year of his rookie deal. Complicating matters is the fact that he and Hill share representation. This could lead to a similar double-dip when Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins signed their new contracts together under the same agent.
Let's hope the Bengals reward Turner in short order. They cost themselves more money by waiting to extend both Chase and Higgins. Turner symbolizes a great chance to rectify those miscalculations and highlight just how authentic this offseason's organizational paradigm shift is.
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