As the Cincinnati Bengals made the final preparations for their Week 7 matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday night, some truly stunning news broke before kickoff.
A lack of firepower and changing of the guard at the quarterback position have been much to blame for the Bengals' woes during their four-game losing streak. However, the defense has played well in spots, headlined by the performance of young cornerback DJ Turner.
Another corner who was drafted a year before Turner in the second round is in the midst of a contract year. Alas, Week 7's inactives list underscored just how disastrous of a season it's been on that front.
Bengals make CB Cam Taylor-Britt a healthy scratch for Week 7
Cam Taylor-Britt flashed a lot of promise as a rookie back in 2022, yet he's struggled to realize his potential since then. He got benched multiple times last season, and has once more gone through that experience in games this year.
But Zac Taylor, Al Golden and Cincinnati's coaching staff cranked it up to another level when they made Taylor-Britt a healthy scratch for Thursday's prime-time showdown at Paycor Stadium. The Athletic's Paul Dehner Jr. explains here:
#Bengals CB Cam Taylor-Britt is INACTIVE tonight against the Steelers.
— Paul Dehner Jr. (@pauldehnerjr) October 16, 2025
This is a healthy scratch as a coach's decision.
Taylor-Britt started the year with hopes to be the team's top corner, but now in a Week 7, must-win game, he's off the active roster.
Wow. What a fall.
Taylor-Britt only played five snaps in the Bengals' 28-3 Monday night debacle in Denver in late September. Although he's dealt with a hamstring injury this season, Taylor indicated that demotion wasn't health-related.
It's not like the Bengals have a bunch of world beaters in their cornerback room, either. The bar isn't terribly high to see the field for significant action. That hasn't stopped Taylor-Britt from perpetual underachievement.
Some notable Bengals stans on X/Twitter have hyped Taylor-Britt as somebody with a high-end starter ceiling. Whatever the reason is for his lack of development since becoming a pro, it's disappointing as can be — and yet another stain on the ledger of Duke Tobin and the personnel department.
I've plugged this point before, but it's worth emphasizing again for effect in light of the mention of CTB's benching against the Broncos.
Bengals picks between 10 and 60 since 2021:
— Gridiron Grading (@GridironGrading) October 1, 2025
➖Jackson Carman
➖Dax Hill
➖Cam Taylor-Britt
➖Myles Murphy
➖DJ Turner
➖Amarius Mims
➖Kris Jenkins
Dax Hill is the only one performing at a starter level right now.
Hard to be a team that relies on draft picks and win this way. https://t.co/DTF80GANpJ
Could deactivating Taylor-Britt be something of a middle finger to the scouting department by Taylor and the staff? Sure feels a bit like it!
The Bengals' 2025 season is more or less on the line against Pittsburgh. What a shame that one of their premier draft picks won't be on the field to help the cause for a single play.
In Taylor-Britt's place, Cincinnati will lean a lot on Turner, nickelback Dax Hill, and presumably the likes of Josh Newton and Marco Wilson to pick up the slack. While I was praising some of the team's last-minute Week 7 roster moves mere hours ago, this is a gigantic red flag.
Safe to say Taylor-Britt ain't getting a second contract with the Bengals. The question is, what is their plan at such an important defensive position going forward? Better fire up the mock drafts and get another cornerback aboard in the early rounds.
Or, you know, as I've advocated since for literal years, trade for Riq Woolen or sign him in free agency this coming offseason.