The latest wrinkle in this debate comes from Geoff Hobson of Bengals .com:

Pro Football Focus believes the Bengals are one of the most overlooked teams heading into the 2025 season. "Cincinnati lost seven of its 11 one-score games last season," Dalton Wasserman wrote. "The franchise was realistically only a handful of plays from having one of the best records in the league, even accounting for its plethora of flaws.

The Cincinnati Bengals remain in a contract impasse with their top defender, Trey Hendrickson. NFL sources open up on his market value

The Bengals seem to invent new ways to frustrate their fans (and players) every year, and that's once again happening this year. Not only did they have Trey Hendrickson skip minicamp, but their first-round pick (Shemar Stewart) left camp early on Thursday.

The situation is no different when it comes to Cincinnati Bengals star, Trey Hendrickson. As the veteran pass rusher is in search of a new deal, and struggling to make progress on one in Ohio, the Bengals could end up in a situation where they move on from him.

The Bengals aren’t doing themselves any favors with the current news emanating out of the organization. They have another disgruntled player.

With OTA's and mandatory minicamp now concluded, and the Bengals going their separate ways for about five weeks prior to the start of preseason training camp, plenty was said about the supposed forward steps by Cincinnati's defense under first-year coordinator Al Golden.