All right, let's sort through what has transpired today for the Bengals and around the NFL. Who better to do that with than my leadoff guest tonight, he covers the Bengals his publisher of Bengals Talk dot com. You got to listen to the Cincinni Bengals Talk and Lockdown Bengals podcast. Man has he been busy today? Let's welcome in James Orpene.
How are you now?
I'm well, I'm curious. I'll ask the question everybody's wondering and everybody's discussing today, the trade of Logan Wilson. Your reaction to Logan to the Cowboys for a seventh round draft pick.
I think given the position that they put themselves in, which is benching their captain in favor of rookie and looking at his contract, I think this makes sense. You wanted to get that contract off the books. You free up roughly five point two million dollars in cap space if you combined this year and next year and what they'll save, and so it stinks, but it beats the alternative of you keep Logan around until February.
You cut it.
You have a bigger cap hit. You don't have any cap savings. You don't have any seventh round pick, and he's still signing elsewhere. So did they handle everything right leading up to it, from the benching and everything involved there that really hurt his trade value. No, by getting something and getting someone to take on that contract, I think it was worth it.
Yeah, here's what I and you bring up a point that I've never understood in all of this when when they initially did this with Logan, it to me it just it screamed rebuild and we're moving on, and yet they were still in it. And yet by doing it, they exposed themselves to the inexperience and the problems that came with it. It just it's seem like mixed messaging or goals.
You can totally agree. And I've asked Zach a few times about the play because he's like, yeah, we got to play the young guys. Then I get it at like a left guard. You drafted Dylan Fairchild to play left guard and start right away.
You knew that on draft day.
Demetrius Knight, even if you disagreed with the pick at the time, you drafted him to do that to play linebacker for you. You took him in the second round. You knew he was going to start from day one or replace Jermaine Prepp. Fine, but Logan wasn't so bad that you had to bench. And in turn, when you did that, you're right. You open yourselves up to a lot of mistakes when you're still very much in it,
when you had just traded for Joe Flacco. Barrett Carter's first start was Joe Flacco's first start at Lambo, and you have just traded for Joe Flackle. You're trying to stay in it. And the other element here is it completely tanks any value Logan Wilson might have had. So there are a lot of people look at this and say, you couldn't get a fifth for Logan Wilson or a
sixth for Logan Wilson. Well, maybe you could have if he had another thirty tackles and he's on the field and maybe had an interception or two, and they made the move then. And I do think it's a questionable move that as of now, has it made them better.
Maybe it will, but benching Logan Wilson has not made them better on defense, and the past four games are pretty obvious where the defense has had every opportunity even at Lambo at third and eight, to get the ball back to Joe Flacko in the Bengals kit to win that game. An opportunity to put the Steelers away didn't do it. Multiple opportunities to put the Jets away, an opportunity to put the Bears away.
This defense hasn't done it.
And you do wonder, man, if Logan was out there, would he have made a play, just that one play that could have put one of those games away.
Are you surprised Trey Hendrickson is still here.
I'm not surprised.
I'm I'm disappointed, but there's there's so many layers to this. I'm disappointed because I'm afraid that we're going to go down the same path that they went down this past year, which is Trey just kind of in the wind. They can franchise tag him, and his agent left him open for the franchise tag, and I think that's very much in play. I know he dismissed that a few months ago, but I do. I think that's very much in play. Once upon a time, Lance I told t Higgins, like,
watch out for that tag again. They're going to tag you next year. This is This wasn't during an interview. This is just me and him chatting.
He was like, oh say that. I was like, I'm telling you. And guess what they did. Now? They ended up keeping Tea because.
Joe Brow moved mountains behind.
The scenes to do so.
But you get my point here is this this tray thing. Now it's just continuing to dangle and it is a distraction and it is an issue and it impacts Trey and it messes with him, and I get it. You need playmakers. Fine, well, if you need play then pay him. And if you don't want to pay him, then trade him. And instead it's this weird in between where they're three and six. But Trade's gonna come back and he's going to help them some and they're going to be in
this little middle ground. But I don't think any team should want to be in, and I think that's where they're going to be.
They had a number of other expiring contracts, be it Cam Taylor Bridge, Ginostone, long list, Joseph's side, long list of brothers. Should they have done more today beyond Logan Wilson and not doing something with Trade?
Yeah, you know me, of course they should have I mean of course they do you think. Let me ask you this, do you think that the Bengals and I maybe no one wanted to trade for Genostone, but do you think they're worth if Gino Stone just.
Isn't on the roster outside of depth, No, I mean I don't, and.
I'm not trying to be mean to Gino, but he should have tackled Coastal Love them the other day. Yeah, Jordan Battle should have tackled Coastal Love on.
The other day. I just some of these guys.
Joseph aside, You've had so many opportunities to be a consistent for this team and it hasn't happened. You couldn't get a pick spot for Joseph O's SI that Joseph try On a Trion could deal with the Bears where the Browns send Joe try On to the Bear like. Of course you could have. And so those are the type of deals that I think that I would have been open to. I wanted them to be open to
because I'm not sure it makes you worse. It hurts your depth a little bit, but I'm not sure it makes you worse, And it gives you more resources, more tools for the future. So yeah, Cam Taylor Britt would have been one like Cam, but would have been open to dealing him. Joseph O'SI sure for sure, and in plenty of these other guys on expiring contracts or just guys that don't seem like they're going to be part of the long term plan.
Did you anticipate yesterday when you guys spoke with Zach, did you anticipate any change to the coaching staff?
I did not.
So much so, And this is not a shameless plug. I just want to make it clear of how much I, without talking to anyone, without asking anyone, knew.
They weren't going to make a move.
I had recorded my podcast before Zach talked before Locker Room and said they're not going to make a move, we won't have to come back and record one, and talked about the coaching staff why they shouldn't. I don't really blame them for not making a move coaching staff wise. And here's why, I asked Al Golden. And this is after I recorded the Lockdown Bgals podcast too. I asked Al Golden, Hey, is there any teaching point for Jordan Battle in that situation against Colston Loveland?
Like no, I just get him to the ground. And so at some point and I did it.
The defense has been so bad and it looks so bad, but I refuse to believe that this coach that people eight months ago, months ago, ten months ago, we're saying was the best defensive coordinator in the country at Notre Dame just forgot how to coach. And the other proof I have is lou Anarumo goes to the Colts and
he clearly didn't forget how to coach. So like fool me once it's all on move, Well, clearly it wasn't fine, But I'm still okay with the change because I think they got a good coach and now Golden it doesn't look good now and they're so bad. Fine, but that does firing Al Golden today.
Make them better? Like they're all on the hot seat.
We know that they're three and six, like they should all be.
On the hot seat.
Zach's on the hot seat. They're all on the hot seat. So making a move now, I'm not sure that matters, but they better be better.
You know.
It's it's a shame because I I'm just shocked at how bad it's gotten. Like this is, this is comically bad. I've covered some bad teams. I mean when we were working together daily. Think about some of those twenty seventeen twenty eighteen Bengals Mark and of Marvin era defenses. They were bad, but it wasn't like this. This is is the worst I've ever seen.
Got about a minute. You've in covering all those teams, been in that locker room for high points and low points. Describe the vibe Sunday after the game in that locker room.
Oh yeah, I mean starting to starting to come to the realization.
Of what they are.
And it's maddening. I think it's maddening you because you see one side and you know it's this offensive line that I think has done a pretty darn good job in the Joe Flacco era. And obviously you have the skill guys that are just unbelievable. I mean, Jamar and t have been just insane, and Andre steps up and Chase Brown's making plays and I know he had a few drops, but all these guys are making place for Joe Flacco. The offensive line is playing well, and the
defense just can't make a play. Of course, a turnover can't get off the field. Third and ten, Caleb Williams just rolls out and runs for fourteen yards against the That's the hidden.
Play in all of this.
They had him at third down, and I don't think anyone in the building was confident they were getting a stop, and so I think that's it. And I don't know how they fix it on defense, I really don't.
I've I just kind of expected to come back to the mean a little bit, but.
It's just been so bad that I would be throwing a bunch of stuff at the wall. And that's why I would have been open to trading some of those guys. I really would have. And maybe they were right. I don't think so. I just know their history and how they operate. I don't think they were pushing Cam Taylor Bride or pushing a VJ. Hill trade or push to get his contract off the books, or you know, open
to trading Jordan. Battle just didn't feel like that. But they probably should have, just to just switch.
It up a little bit.
You never know what a little new life could bring you. We've seen that with Joe Flacco. So yeah, it's I think reality has said in a bit on this team, for sure.
You have been cranking out the content, not just today, but day after day. What do you have up now, what will be coming and how can listeners partake in all of it.
I just posted a lock on Bengals podcast. We've relive on Cincinnati Bengals Talk on YouTube for an hour. Plenty of stuff there. I'm looking at Bengals Talk dot com and there are a bunch of articles reacting to the Logan Wilson deal, reacting to their lack of trades with Trey hendrickson the cap space that they saved for Logan Wilson, the actual pick that the Cowboys are sending isn't the Cowboys? That details there. There's so much at Bengals Talk dot com as well.
Busy day.
I appreciate your carbon out time.
Thank you absolutely thanks Mans