Bengals Beat: Duke Tobin, Staff Deserve Credit For Putting These Bengals In a Position To Compete, With A Big Assist to Katie Blackburn

CINCINNATI — There was a sense of accomplishment from Duke Tobin Monday as he spoke about the last three months since he gave his “steering the ship” press conference in January after a 6-11 season.

There’s a sense of optimism that wasn’t there when the Bengals began their full rebuild of the defense and their fortification of the offensive line.

The Bengals had to show their fan base and their franchise quarterback they were serious about turning things around immediately and competing for a Super Bowl. As offseason roster-building goes, it’s hard to imagine the Bengals having a better one than they’ve had since Tobin made that promise in a 60-minute press conference on Jan. 9 at Paycor Stadium. Over three months later he took the dais after accomplishing the following:

Re-signed tight end Mike Gesicki to a three-year contract.

Signed back-up quarterback Josh Johnson

Brought back second-string quarterback Joe Flacco

Re-signed right guard Dalton Risner

Signed free agent edge Boye Mafe

Signed free agent safety Bryan Cook

Signed free agent tackle Jonathan Allen

Signed free agent safety Kyle Dugger

Signed free agent nickel corner Ja’Sir Taylor

Traded No. 10 overall draft pick to NY Giants for nose tackle Dexter Lawrence and extended him for 2028 for $28 million.

Drafted rookie edge Cashius Howell

Drafted corner Tacario Davis

Drafted center Connor Lew

Drafted receiver Colbie Young

Drafted offensive lineman Brian Parker II

Drafted tight end Jack Endries

Drafted defensive tackle Landon Robinson

The Bengals spent $122 million in new player contracts this season and committed $200 million to overhauling their defense. The Bengals never traded a top-10 draft pick for a player like they did this year. The Bengals entered free agency with roughly $47.2 million in cap space. How aggressive have the Bengals been? They have $299 million committed to the 2026 payroll with $5.1 million left in effective cap space. Per Over The Cap, they are numero uno in cap spending, beating the second-ranked Tampa Bay Buccaneers by $9 million. They have put their money where their mouth is. Al Golden even pointed out how the Bengals have spent to the cap like no other in his press conference late Friday night after selecting Cashius Howell and Tacario Davis.

All of this has led the director of player personnel Duke Tobin to effusively praise – as he should – Bengals Executive Vice President Katie Blackburn for making it all possible and opening the purse strings. The Bengals have always claimed they are among the top teams in active cap spending. This year, no one in the NFL has been more aggressive. No team has needed to be, either.

“We used every resource we could. The star of the show is Katie and she was able to fit it all together,” Tobin said. “We’re at the top of the league in spending. She makes that work. It really was exceptional, because we had opportunities come to us that we weren’t expecting financially and she was able to still make it work, which was sensational.”

Tobin also made mention of his assistant general managers, namely Steve Radicevic, Trey Brown and Mike Potts and the scouting department that has worked around the clock in the last three months to make the aforementioned moves possible.

“I’m proud of the jobs that they do, and I believe that they’re some of the highest-level guys in the league,” Tobin said. “They just earn that in my mind. They’ve earned that. They’re much better-looking than I am, so better for you guys to look at too. They’re very good at their job so they’re the ones that should be down here talking about the players because, again, it goes beyond just those three. It goes to the rest of the scouting staff. Any of the new ones that we’ve added. It was a really good, collaborative group and there isn’t an ego amongst them. They’re working together. They’re not looking for credit. They’re looking to build the Cincinnati Bengals the best it can be built.”

The Bengals are as uniquely prepared to compete for a Super Bowl in the Joe Burrow era. The 2021 season was a nice surprise. The 2022 season was missed opportunity in Kansas City. The 2023 and ’24 seasons featured a Burrow wrist injury and a defensive collapse at the end that derailed hopes. Last season, Burrow lost nine games to a toe injury and the defense was far too reliant on youth.

All of that has been addressed. Joe Burrow was throwing over the weekend with Mike Gesicki, Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. Dexter Lawrence told Barrett Carter he didn’t come to Cincinnati for any other reason than to win a Super Bowl. Bryan Cook, with two rings already in his jewelry box, told me he’s already dreaming of what it would be like to win a Super Bowl for the Bengals as a Cincinnati kid. Zac Taylor was beaming Saturday from ear to ear with the new defense he’s been presented. There is an entirely different vibe around this Bengals team this offseason. The Bengals front office has done its job. Now, the Bengals players and coaches have the task of providing appropriate ROI and make good on those Super Bowl aspirations.

These were the biggest Tobin Takeaways from Monday:

* Very pleased with the seven picks made in the draft: “Really pleased with how the weekend went. Really pleased with how the past two months have gone. Roster building is 12 months a year. It never stops, but these two months are critical. Really excited and proud of personnel guys upstairs and how they attacked and how they stayed with it. We used every resource we could.”

* Tobin stresses multiple times that the Bengals are at the very top of the NFL in cap spending and they are being super aggressive in trying to win this year. “We’ve layered in a lot of costs this year and next year and those things are factors as we go forward, but we’ll manage them the best way that we can.”

* Thrilled to get Dexter Lawrence for the No. 10 pick. “Felt good getting big Dex in here” Worth the price for a “rare” player who can contribute immediately at a high level.

* Tobin repeats what Al Golden said about the linebacking group, led by second-year players Barrett Carter and Demetrius Knight Jr. “Probably the best thing we did for our linebacker room is what we did for the D line room, and that’s going to elevate those guys. And I have real belief in the guys that we have.”

Bringing in a veteran linebacker like a Bobby Wagner is still on the table but…
“I am not down on my linebackers. They individually will improve and collectively will improve by what we’ve done and the experience that they’ve gained,” Tobin said. “If there are people that we think can add to the group, we’ll add to the group. We’re not done roster building. There’s an entire offseason, then there’s training camp, then there’s cut downs, then there’s practice squads, then there is practice squad poaches, and then there’s trades. And then, I mean, you’re never done roster building. But I feel very good about our roster as it sits right now.

* Tobin happy with roster formation now after 2025 experience. “After free agency, our team is pretty complete. We didn’t have a lot of holes. We have a lot of guys that have played a lot of football. We have young guys that are just starting to find their groove and play really well for us. So it frees you up a little bit. You don’t want to be drafting for starters. If your draftees become starters, that’s great. But you don’t want to be reliant on them to start immediately, and that’s now where our team is.”

* Now that draft is over, Bengals can focus on potential restructure for Joe Burrow and extensions for DJ Turner and Dax Hill and picking up the fifth year option for Myles Murphy.