Whitworth interview....

[Whatever]

(03-02-2019, 06:09 PM)Bengalholic Wrote: The only thing I would disagree with is that matching the Rams deal wouldn't have been much a risk at all for the Bengals. It was basically a one year deal, with an option for 2 more. If Whit showed signs of falling after the 1st year, they could have simply walked away from the deal being out a total of 15m. Given what we had seen from OG and Fisher to that point, that didn't seem like a huge gamble to take for at least one more year of Whit.

I think the Bengals were in a tough spot...having drafted 2 tackles, hoping one would be Whit's eventual successor, and the fact that Whit was an aging LT with no guarantees that his performance wouldn't take a nose dive. IMO, the best move would've have been to do a deal similar to the Rams, where you get at least one more year of Whit - hoping that he still plays fairly well - while giving yourself more time to evaluate and get a better feel about what you have in Og and/or Fisher.

The Bengals couldn't have cut Whit without a fan uprising.  We saw all the negative backlash when they cut Big Willie even though it was clear he was done.  A lot of us just have our blinders on when it comes to Whit.  Lots of peeps said he played great in the SB, but when you watch the tape, he gave up a sack, several hits and hurries, and gave no effort in the run game the whole first half.  Unless he became Ogbuehi level bad, the fan base would scream bloody murder.