They just spoke at the combine.

They gave a complete vote of confidence that Higgins isn't getting traded. Called it ridiculous.

When they asked about Mixon, they did not give that same confidence. Said "we dont know" and "we will see".

Reading the tea leaves it seems like Mixon is most likely not returning.

Nothing that earth shattering from either press conference.

With that being said there playing the Higgins situation all wrong. There is no way in hell they will pay both Higgins and Chase 25+ Million at one position. If they trade him this offseason they could potentially get a shit ton in return for him.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/bengals-duke-tobin-slams-door-on-tee-higgins-trade-speculation/ar-AA183x67?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=481a55ba730345d4db0e4cc66d617d38&ei=9

Tobin says Tee trade speculation - ridiculous

https://fb.watch/i_bzBkrAw_/?mibextid=NnVzG8

Duke tellin em like it is...."go find your own receiver"

His answers regarding Tee and even Hurst (we’ll do everything to bring him back) juxtaposed to his response on Mixon tells a pretty convincing story on where they may go with him.

Heard on XM Tobin saying they will spend to the cap.

(02-28-2023, 06:39 PM)J24 Wrote: Nothing that earth shattering from either press conference.

With that being said there playing the Higgins situation all wrong. There is no way in hell they will pay both Higgins and Chase 25+ Million at one position.  If they trade him this offseason they could potentially get a shit ton in return for him.

It's possible they're doing the standard "we'd never trade him!" schtick to drive up the price. Trading Tee rather than watching him get beaucoup bucks from a desperate GM and then waiting to see what sort of comp pick the NFL sees fit to give us would be a "new dey" move, wouldn't it?

(02-28-2023, 06:59 PM)Nately120 Wrote: It's possible they're doing the standard "we'd never trade him!" schtick to drive up the price. Trading Tee rather than watching him get beaucoup bucks from a desperate GM and then waiting to see what sort of comp pick the NFL sees fit to give us would be a "new dey" move, wouldn't it?

Same thing I was thinking.

We’re not a franchise known for the smoke and mirrors or really deceiving the league and then making surprise picks/moves, but this is a New-Dey and maybe Zac is influencing Duke to be sneaky.

Maybe they want Mixon to take a pay cut but have him be able to earn it back with incentives because, like Burrow said while talking to Mixon on the sidelines mid-game, if they run Mixon effectively, no one can beat us.

Who knows but I love the mystery going into the draft!

Duke on Mixon. Vital part, successful part of team, but I can’t predict the offseason.

— Jay Morrison (@JayMorrisonATH) February 28, 2023

Duke on Tee. The trade stuff is ridiculous. Not interested in making other teams better. If you want a good receiver, go get your own.

— Jay Morrison (@JayMorrisonATH) February 28, 2023

Duke on the difference between the 2022 Bengals and 2021 team:
A couple plays. Maybe a couple calls.

— Jay Morrison (@JayMorrisonATH) February 28, 2023

Zac Taylor at the podium on the OL last year before injuries: “They really found thier stride and rhythm … was really proud of the job they did.” pic.twitter.com/LRTVjvCRke

— Paul Dehner Jr. (@pauldehnerjr) February 28, 2023

If the players want to keep the team together it will fall on each and every one of them to sacrifice. If one won’t or can’t then they won’t be a part. Joe will start first and his contract will reflect it then he’ll say it’s your turn. If a player won’t or can’t they’ll get someone else and there will be plenty of suitors for them to go after. I think we are in a good spot. You are either in or out.

(02-28-2023, 06:39 PM)J24 Wrote: Nothing that earth shattering from either press conference.

With that being said there playing the Higgins situation all wrong. There is no way in hell they will pay both Higgins and Chase 25+ Million at one position.  If they trade him this offseason they could potentially get a shit ton in return for him.

and that's not a good move. We are a couple pieces away from winning a SB (OL depth).
If you can't extend Tee, then you let him play it out and tag him next year for trade bait. Odds of finding another "Tee" in the draft is very low.

Get that SB win first with all of your horses, then you can do whatever you need to.

(02-28-2023, 07:20 PM)Soonerpeace Wrote:

Zac Taylor at the podium on the OL last year before injuries: “They really found thier stride and rhythm … was really proud of the job they did.” pic.twitter.com/LRTVjvCRke

— Paul Dehner Jr. (@pauldehnerjr) February 28, 2023

2021
https://www.si.com/nfl/bengals/news/mike-brown-is-bullish-on-the-cincinnati-bengals-offensive-line

(02-28-2023, 07:25 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: 2021
https://www.si.com/nfl/bengals/news/mike-brown-is-bullish-on-the-cincinnati-bengals-offensive-line

Missed your comment.

I am not convinced you can't get a Tee deal done now at a reasonable deal to get him extended for 2 more years beyond this year. He is making bare bones this year, so if you are willing to bring him up to say 15 this year from his current rate then say 19 next which is close to this years tag number and say 21 the following year I think you can punt the decision for a while and see how it falls.

The benefit for Tee is he is making a lot more this year than he would playing his deal out, so it's essentially trading an extra 12 this year and then playing a bit under the next two but considering if we sit on him this year at 3 million it works out the same total comp wise over next 3. If you structured the guarantees heavily across all three years I bet you could get it done. Otherwise he plays this year on his deal, then gets tagged next and maybe in 3 years he finally gets paid. Money now is worth more than money later in the Not For Long league.

(02-28-2023, 07:29 PM)Au165 Wrote: I am not convinced you can't get a Tee deal done now at a reasonable deal to get him extended for 2 more years beyond this year. He is making bare bones this year, so if you are willing to bring him up to say 15 this year from his current rate then say 19 next which is close to this years tag number and say 21 the following year I think you can punt the decision for a while and see how it falls.

The benefit for Tee is he is making a lot more this year than he would playing his deal out, so it's essentially trading an extra 12 this year and then playing a bit under the next two but considering if we sit on him this year at 3 million it works out the same total comp wise over next 3. If you structured the guarantees heavily across all three years I bet you could get it done. Otherwise he plays this year on his deal, then gets tagged next and maybe in 3 years he finally gets paid. Money now is worth more than money later in the Not For Long league.

I like that

https://youtu.be/M9ulL9v--5c

All of a sudden the scenario I envisioned of them moving on from Mixon seems more likely - if they are at the draft and Bijan Robinson is still there and it is close to their pick they may move and take him.

(02-28-2023, 07:49 PM)Joelist Wrote: All of a sudden the scenario I envisioned of them moving on from Mixon seems more likely - if they are at the draft and Bijan Robinson is still there and it is close to their pick they may move and take him.

He won’t get past Buffalo or the Ravens.. Mixon will have a chance to stay. That would be their preference. There are more issues that come first. If Hurst doesn’t resign they will draft a TE. If Collins rehab doesn’t look like he’ll be ready then they will draft a tackle. Mixon is not the problem. The problem is the OL. Mixon showed against Carolina he’s still got it. They like their running back room. Mixon may have to literally give some money to Perine. It’s very evident they want to keep everyone. Of course that’s unrealistic. But there’s bigger issues than the running back room except for Mixon’s contract

(02-28-2023, 08:36 PM)Soonerpeace Wrote: He won’t get past Buffalo. Mixon will have a chance to stay. That would be their preference. There are more issues that come first. If Hurst doesn’t resign they will draft a TE. If Collins rehab doesn’t look like he’ll be ready then they will draft a tackle. Mixon is not the problem. The problem is the OL. Mixon showed against Carolina he’s still got it. They like their running back room. Mixon may have to literally give some money to Perine. It’s very evident they want to keep everyone. Of course that’s unrealistic. But there’s bigger issues than the running back room except for Mixon’s contract

I'm not aware of the overall trend, but paying a RB $9.4 million to play like a backup most weeks while being a total liability in the blocking game seems like a really big problem.  The whole Mixon pay/situation needs a big shakeup, methinks. 

If you take away Mixon's best game and his worst game of 2022 you have
177 attempts
640 yards
3.73 AVG
3 TDs

51 receptions
350 yards
1 TD

(02-28-2023, 08:36 PM)Soonerpeace Wrote: He won’t get past Buffalo. Mixon will have a chance to stay. That would be their preference. There are more issues that come first. If Hurst doesn’t resign they will draft a TE. If Collins rehab doesn’t look like he’ll be ready then they will draft a tackle. Mixon is not the problem. The problem is the OL. Mixon showed against Carolina he’s still got it. They like their running back room. Mixon may have to literally give some money to Perine. It’s very evident they want to keep everyone. Of course that’s unrealistic. But there’s bigger issues than the running back room except for Mixon’s contract

Is a function of value to production. No matter the circumstance his production does not, and never really has, justified his pay. Mixon has to go, even at 6 million he would barely be a positive return on spend. The position is a dime a dozen position OUTSIDE of pass protection which he can’t do.

They should be looking at a day 3 back to platoon with a veteran who can pass protect, maybe Perine on a cheap deal. This roster is not built to run and they aren’t going to pay Burrow like a top 3 QB to turn around and hand it off a ton. It doesn’t mean we won’t run but look no further than how KC handled HB this year with Pacheco and McKinnon.

(02-28-2023, 08:44 PM)Nately120 Wrote: I'm not aware of the overall trend, but paying a RB $9.4 million to play like a backup most weeks while being a total liability in the blocking game seems like a really big problem.  The whole Mixon pay/situation needs a big shakeup, methinks. 

If you take away Mixon's best game and his worst game of 2022 you have
177 attempts
640 yards
3.73 AVG
3 TDs

51 receptions
350 yards
1 TD

(02-28-2023, 08:47 PM)Au165 Wrote: Is a function of value to production. No matter the circumstance his production does not, and never really has, justified his pay. Mixon has to go, even at 6 million he would barely be a positive return on spend. The position is a dime a dozen position OUTSIDE of pass protection which he can’t do.

They should be looking at a day 3 back to platoon with a veteran who can pass protect, maybe Perine on a cheap deal. This roster is not built to run and they aren’t going to pay Burrow like a top 3 QB to turn around and hand it off a ton. It doesn’t mean we won’t run but look no further than how KC handled HB this year with Pacheco and McKinnon.

I think there’s going to be some disappointed people on here.