Bengals News (3/3): Destination Cincinnati

Combine Quick Hits: Bengals See Burrow’s Next Step On Command
“Petty rare. Pretty rare. Not a lot of guys who have the ability to do it. And we trust him. That’s the best part of it. I trust Joe with everything he sees and how he sees it during the course of a game of what he likes and doesn’t like,” Callahan said. “Whenever he checks, we’re all for it. That’s a fun thing about continuity for all of us being together as long as we have being able to trust our guys. Everyone is on the same page all the time and that’s a lot of fun.

Looking For “Glass-Eaters,” Mirrors Bengals Quest To Beef Up Offensive Line
“I’d love to have more leadership in the room, love to have more alpha males in the room, can’t get enough of those guys,” Pollack said Wednesday during a break from his Combine break of watching free agents on tape. “I’d love to have more of what I call glass-eaters in the room. Can never have enough of those guys. That’s what this league requires. Those are the kind of offensive linemen that we’re looking for.”

2022 NFL free agency: Projected landing spots, contract, updates for Bengals’ Jessie Bates
Jessie Bates III wants to stay in Cincinnati, where he has blossomed into being one of the NFL’s best safeties. The Bengals would also like to keep Bates in Cincinnati, something that director of player personnel Duke Tobin confirmed this week at the NFL Scouting Combine. Given both parties’ interest, it would seem like a foregone conclusion that Bates will pen a long-term deal with the Bengals any day now.

Agent for ‘Prominent Tight End’ Wants Client to Sign With Cincinnati Bengals
“Completely unprompted, an agent for a prominent free-agent tight end told PFF recently how badly he wanted his client to sign with the Bengals and play with quarterback Joe Burrow,” Kyed wrote on Wednesday.

Bengals considered Logan Wilson in Round 2 before picking Tee Higgins
Speaking with reporters at the combine, Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said the team actually considered Wilson at the top of Round 2 in the 2020 draft before making Tee Higgins the pick, per The Athletic’s Jay Morrison.

Joe Burrow has made Cincinnati Bengals a top spot for free agents
“Completely unprompted, an agent for a prominent free-agent tight end told PFF recently how badly he wanted his client to sign with the Bengals and play with quarterback Joe Burrow.”

3 bold predictions for Cincinnati Bengals’ 2022 offseason
What will happen during the course of the Cincinnati Bengals’ offseason? Here are three bold predictions for the stripes’ 2022 offseason.

Around the league

2022 NFL free agency matchmaking: One fit for each NFC team
The Cardinals’ top three tight ends are headed to free agency — and the team needs to retain at least one of them. Arizona isn’t projected to be in the worst cap situation, and although Ertz will cost more than, say, Maxx Williams, he also carries the most potential to produce for Kliff Kingsbury’s offense. Despite arriving as a midseason trade acquisition and appearing in just 11 games with the Cardinals, Ertz still placed second on the team in catches (56) and third in receiving yards (574) in 2021.

Matt LaFleur: Packers have ‘two No. 1 backs’ in Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon
“We’re fortunate, we’ve got two No. 1 backs,” LaFleur said. “They both offer a little bit something different. But the one thing I love about both of those guys is obviously they can run the football at a very high level, but just their contributions in the passing game. Whether it’s in protection, whether it’s receiving out of the backfield, whether it’s lining them out wide. I think both of those guys are very versatile, and that’s an important part to our offense.”

Combine Debrief: Cardinals’ brass, Amari Cooper up, Jimmy Garoppolo’s stock down
The ALL CAPS (and poorly edited) missive from Kyler Murray’s agent Monday spoke louder than anything said by Cardinals general manager Steve Keim at the podium this week at the NFL Scouting Combine. For those who didn’t make it through the entire Murray statement, the only reasonable reading is that he wants a long-term extension this offseason, or he wants out. By Wednesday, longtime Cardinals observer Dan Bickley, as well-connected as anyone in Arizona sports, was writing that Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill was “surely seething” about Murray and suggested a Murray-for-Deshaun Watson trade (a possibility so messy that I could see it happening eventually).

Melvin Gordon hopes to stay with Broncos: ‘It’s a job unfinished’
“I have been wanting to come back. I would love to win a championship in Denver. I made a lot of great relationships with the guys. I feel like we have a really good team. To leave a talented team and go somewhere else would suck,” Gordon told Troy Renck of Denver7 on Wednesday. “It’s a job unfinished, and we need to finish the job. I would love to stay. I talked with (general manager) George (Paton). We spoke on it. He told me he thinks highly of me. I really like the way he runs things and does things.”