04-02-2023, 02:16 PM
(04-01-2023, 09:28 PM)Bengalholic Wrote: Orlando ended up a Bengal because the other teams that had interest in him wanted him as a RT and he wanted to stay at LT. There was a lot written about this before he reached out to the Bengals. The rest of the league just didn't view him as a LT.
In Irv's case he had narrowed it down to the Bengals and reuniting with Tua in Miami. His dad convinced him to pick the Bengals. This has also been talked about on Bengals.com and his interview with Dan Hoard.
I'm sure having Joe helps to some degree when guys are making their decisions, but it wasn't the main reason why either of these guys ended up signing here. If someone would have given Orlando more money and let him play LT, that's where he'd be right now. If Irv's dad has of convinced him to go to Miami, that's probably where he'd be right now.
The LT thing was part of it for sure. But that was part of the deal, IMO.
QUESTION:
Do you think either of those players are in Cincy if - given the exact same conditions were met and the money was the same - Andy Dalton is the QB and the team had been losing or treading water the last 3 years? I would say no damn way. Absolutely not. Either the Bengals would have had to toss in way more cash or the players would have used them for leverage to find a place they wanted to be.
I guess that's where my head is at with this stuff. Burrow and the team success that's come with him has at least leveled the playing field where the Bengals aren't having to overpay by large margins.
