12-26-2022, 10:52 AM
(12-26-2022, 03:57 AM)Whatever Wrote: Where would Whit play? He's been very vocal in the past that he can't just switch sides. For another, a guy who's publicly bashed the Bengals numerous times over contract negotiations is going to come back and play for peanuts after already having won a ring last year?
EH, depends on how much he misses the game. 2 regular season games, more realistically 1, plus a postseason definitely isn't the physical beatdown that a full season of football would be, so there's that. He wouldn't have to be away from his family for the duration of a full season, either, and that was a big deal to him. Also, there's zero uncertainty about whether or not the team is primed for a playoff run, so the idea of playing for nothing is not a thing.
As for switching, I see his saying that as more of a money thing. A guy like him wants LT money, so switching to RT when he's still playing is something he'd probably want to avoid. Whit played several positions on the line in his time in the league. If the backups can move around, I imagine a guy that was arguably one of the best in the league for a decade can figure it out.
The relationship with the team is an interesting question, but I think this is a different Bengals organization. Willie was critical of the team, and he's in the ROH. Chad had his tantrums, too, but he's back in their good graces in a very obvious way. Frankly, it's hard to find Bengal greats that haven't had issues with ownership in the past. Time away seems to heal the wounds for a lot of those guys. The organization is making it's most sincere effort to acknowledge it's history and great players at this very moment. Whit would be a great place to continue that effort. No doubt he belongs in the ROH, and no doubt he's a top bare minimum 15 all-time Bengal.
