We been obviously doubting the career of Trae Waynes since he signed with the Bengals last year making him one of the highest paid cornerbacks in the NFL. Since that signing he obviously hasn’t seen the field. There is a reason he got a 14 million dollar a year contract so maybe he could possibly be a game changer in the secondary. Everyone thought they gave Trey Hendrickson too much money. He’s playing at a pro bowl level thus far. Maybe Waynes will bring that as well. You know Trae Waynes himself wants to go out and prove himself worthy of his contract he got.

(09-29-2021, 01:36 AM)Jhowdy54 Wrote: We been obviously doubting the career of Trae Waynes since he signed with the Bengals last year making him one of the highest paid cornerbacks in the NFL. Since that signing he obviously hasn’t seen the field. There is a reason he got a 14 million dollar a year contract so maybe he could possibly be a game changer in the secondary. Everyone thought they gave Trey Hendrickson too much money. He’s playing at a pro bowl level thus far. Maybe Waynes will bring that as well. You know Trae Waynes himself wants to go out and prove himself worthy of his contract he got.

It’s not that anyone doubts he’s a solid CB and certainly an upgrade over Apple, but it’s more of will he ever freaking play at this point.

(09-29-2021, 01:47 AM)CarolinaBengalFanGuy Wrote: It’s not that anyone doubts he’s a solid CB and certainly an upgrade over Apple, but it’s more of will he ever freaking play at this point.

Not only this, but also...dude's not played football in a while and how much has he practiced?  How much of the 14 million dollar Waynes will we get?  I root for all in stripes, but it is a valid concern.

(09-29-2021, 01:47 AM)CarolinaBengalFanGuy Wrote: It’s not that anyone doubts he’s a solid CB and certainly an upgrade over Apple, but it’s more of will he ever freaking play at this point.

Plenty are questioning how good he ever is, was or will be

(09-29-2021, 03:48 AM)Sanforbd Wrote: Plenty are questioning how good he ever is, was or will be

I would say most fans would agree he’s a decent CB at worst. A lot of people argued if he was as good as his contract though. Barring him being worse than his time in Minnesota he should be a solid upgrade over Apple. He doesn’t have the in game chemistry but at the very least he’s practice and knows the playbook after a year +

He’s not played football longer than Chase when he sat out.

It’s amazing how he missed a handful of games in 4 or 5 years then gets hurt like right after he gets his big contract. Then gets hurt again before the season begins this year.

I don’t doubt his ability to cover, but all of a sudden he’s more fragile than glass? I don’t know about this guy.

(09-29-2021, 03:14 AM)CardCounterChris Wrote: Not only this, but also...dude's not played football in a while and how much has he practiced?  How much of the 14 million dollar Waynes will we get?  I root for all in stripes, but it is a valid concern.

He did all the off season OTA's and training camp. It's not like he's been sitting around.

I was a little curious when we signed him to the deal he got. He looked very bad at times in Min, especially very early on, to where he was the guy who was picked on. But he rebounded very well with more experience and he does seem to fit with the type of players they are trying to man the defense with, valuing pure fundamentals and tackling ability. We need him back ASAP for the defense to hit on all cylinders. Sans injuries, the defense would’ve turned even more heads than it already has. Apple wouldn’t have been a point of exposure and Ossai could’ve been deployed as someone else for the protection to account for. I hope we can keep Ogun around next year, add some corner help and get Ossai back and healthy. The needle is pointing up on the defensive side of the ball, and it no doubt can keep us in games as is (a year ago , the Chicago game would’ve been a blowout loss).

(09-29-2021, 08:37 AM)Dr.Z Wrote: I was a little curious when we signed him to the deal he got.  He looked very bad at times in Min, especially very early on, to where he was the guy who was picked on.   But he rebounded very well with more experience and he does seem to fit with the type of players they are trying to man the defense with, valuing pure fundamentals and tackling ability.   We need him back ASAP for the defense to hit on all cylinders.   Sans injuries, the defense would’ve turned even more heads than it already has.  Apple wouldn’t have been a point of exposure and Ossai could’ve been deployed as someone else for the protection to account for.   I hope we can keep Ogun around next year, add some corner help and get Ossai back and healthy.   The needle is pointing up on the defensive side of the ball, and it no doubt can keep us in games as is.

I have no doubt guys like Larry O, who signed 1 year deals here, will be given new deals. A lot of players this year wanted 1 year deals because they know numbers will go up next year with the new cap. If this defense ends the season a top 10, expect everyone back.

(09-29-2021, 08:37 AM)Dr.Z Wrote: I was a little curious when we signed him to the deal he got.  He looked very bad at times in Min, especially very early on, to where he was the guy who was picked on.   But he rebounded very well with more experience and he does seem to fit with the type of players they are trying to man the defense with, valuing pure fundamentals and tackling ability.   We need him back ASAP for the defense to hit on all cylinders.   Sans injuries, the defense would’ve turned even more heads than it already has.  Apple wouldn’t have been a point of exposure and Ossai could’ve been deployed as someone else for the protection to account for.   I hope we can keep Ogun around next year, add some corner help and get Ossai back and healthy.   The needle is pointing up on the defensive side of the ball, and it no doubt can keep us in games as is (a year ago , the Chicago game would’ve been a blowout loss).

I know we give Mike Brown a ton of shit (and deservedly so) but just imagine if it were literally YOUR money being used to pay a guy who keeps getting injured. 

I mean he signed a 3 year 42 million dollar deal and so far there has been zero return on investment. I get that he's injured and he can't help it, but if I'm an owner and I'm paying that I'd be absolutely sick with myself lol. 

(09-29-2021, 01:36 AM)Jhowdy54 Wrote: We been obviously doubting the career of Trae Waynes since he signed with the Bengals last year making him one of the highest paid cornerbacks in the NFL. Since that signing he obviously hasn’t seen the field. There is a reason he got a 14 million dollar a year contract so maybe he could possibly be a game changer in the secondary. Everyone thought they gave Trey Hendrickson too much money. He’s playing at a pro bowl level thus far. Maybe Waynes will bring that as well. You know Trae Waynes himself wants to go out and prove himself worthy of his contract he got.

i wouldnt expect a lot form a guy that hasnt been on a field in over a year until he gets a few games under his belt again

(09-29-2021, 08:40 AM)Sled21 Wrote: I have no doubt guys like Larry O, who signed 1 year deals here, will be given new deals. A lot of players this year wanted 1 year deals because they know numbers will go up next year with the new cap. If this defense ends the season a top 10, expect everyone back.

Someone will be giving them new deals for sure... If they all play this well on defense all season then we wont be keeping them all

(09-29-2021, 09:15 AM)WeezyBengal Wrote: I know we give Mike Brown a ton of shit (and deservedly so) but just imagine if it were literally YOUR money being used to pay a guy who keeps getting injured. 

I mean he signed a 3 year 42 million dollar deal and so far there has been zero return on investment. I get that he's injured and he can't help it, but if I'm an owner and I'm paying that I'd be absolutely sick with myself lol. 

I guess the good thing is that even though Mikey got burned tossing around big money in UFA last year with the injuries to Waynes and Reader, it didn't dissuade him from going hard after it again this year.  

(09-29-2021, 09:58 AM)Whatever Wrote: I guess the good thing is that even though Mikey got burned tossing around big money in UFA last year with the injuries to Waynes and Reader, it didn't dissuade him from going hard after it again this year.  

I've actually thought about that a lot over the years.  It seems like Mr. Brown has been burned so many times when trying to make a splash in free agency with a big name.  I don't really blame him for being skittish about dropping money on these guys.  However, these recent additions all seem to be absolutely worth it.  Hopefully this crop of FA further change the approach and attitude within the building.

(09-29-2021, 01:36 AM)Jhowdy54 Wrote: We been obviously doubting the career of Trae Waynes since he signed with the Bengals last year making him one of the highest paid cornerbacks in the NFL. Since that signing he obviously hasn’t seen the field. There is a reason he got a 14 million dollar a year contract so maybe he could possibly be a game changer in the secondary. Everyone thought they gave Trey Hendrickson too much money. He’s playing at a pro bowl level thus far. Maybe Waynes will bring that as well. You know Trae Waynes himself wants to go out and prove himself worthy of his contract he got.

Waynes has never been a Top 10 CB in the league, so I never expected him to be a game changer.
A "game changer," to me, is someone who forces a lot of turnovers.
Waynes only had 7 INTs and 2 FF across 74 games.
But maybe he'll be able to force more turnovers in Anarumo's scheme vs the one he was playing in MIN.

(09-29-2021, 09:28 AM)XenoMorph Wrote: Someone will be giving them new deals for sure... If they all play this well on defense all season then we wont be keeping them all

The good thing is we have Awuzie ,Hilton, Hendricks, Reader and Hubbard all locked up long term and have Wilson on his rookie contract. Larry O and Bates are both free agents after the year and need to be locked up. Worse case scenario we could franchise tag Bates. There could also be a scenario where we resign both and Wayne’s dosent pan out and you could possibly save money by cutting him down the road I’m not sure how his contract is structured tho ,I’m just throwing out scenarios.

He will platoon with Apple and/or Phillips for a few weeks I would imagine. Coming off a hamstring injury and not playing live football for over a year, the guy is gonna be rusty. It wouldn’t be a stretch of the imagination to think both Apple and Phillips are better players RIGHT NOW than TW is. They’re healthy, have played meaningful snaps the past two years, have some repoire with their defensive teammates, etc. Not saying Apple and Phillips are better players in the long run, but right now, they’re ahead of Trae and I trust them more than I do him at this point! [emoji2369]

(09-29-2021, 03:14 AM)CardCounterChris Wrote: Not only this, but also...dude's not played football in a while and how much has he practiced?  How much of the 14 million dollar Waynes will we get?  I root for all in stripes, but it is a valid concern.

I recall he was playing well during training camp so theres that...but we need to see him in action soon making plays for us in a real game.  I still say that this is what we will be hearing come April 2022;
"And with the 15 to 25th selection in the 2022 NFL Draft, the Bengals select (insert stud CB here)"
Dam that Diggs on Dallas looks great. 

(09-29-2021, 09:58 AM)Whatever Wrote: I guess the good thing is that even though Mikey got burned tossing around big money in UFA last year with the injuries to Waynes and Reader, it didn't dissuade him from going hard after it again this year.  

They didn't "go after it hard". They literally just replaced guys they lost via free agency and cuts. 

WJ3, Geno, AJ, Dunlap, Gio, Lawson were basically just replaced by Waynes, Reader, Hendrickson, Reiff, Awuzie, and Hilton.

(09-29-2021, 11:52 AM)WeezyBengal Wrote: They didn't "go after it hard". They literally just replaced guys they lost via free agency and cuts. 

WJ3, Geno, AJ, Dunlap, Gio, Lawson were basically just replaced by Waynes, Reader, Hendrickson, Reiff, Awuzie, and Hilton.

The Bengals have absolutely spent money relative to the league over the past two years.