'Everybody Around The League Knows That's Me' - T.J. Slaton Highlights Key Role He Expects To Fill With Bengals

Cincinnati signed the former Packer this week.

Green Bay Packers defensive tackle T.J. Slaton (93) celebrates with defensive end Rashan Gary (52) after Gary tallies a sack against the Chicago Bears on Sunday, January 5, 2025, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. Tork Mason/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / Tork Mason / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

CINCINNATI — New Bengals nose tackle T.J. Slaton is switching from Green Bay to Cincinnati, but he knows his main goal remains the same: Stop the run.

Cincinnati had a rough run defense during the 2024 season, allowing the 19th-most yards per game (124.8 yards per game), 28th-best EPA/rush, and 31st-best success rate allowed.

The 6-5, 340-pound mauler is ready to help turn those numbers around.

"I'm pretty sure it's to stop to run," Slaton said to the media on Thursday about his biggest job. "That's me. Everybody around the league knows that's me, and that's the number one capability. But you know for myself it's to become an all-around player who can do it all. But at the end of the day, I'm here to take on the job at hand and I'm pretty sure that's to stop the run first."

Slaton is no stranger to taking a role and running with it. He's posted 55 defensive stops over the past two seasons and was either strong or weak against the run last season, depending on the metric you use (No. 1 in ESPN's Run Stop Win Rate, 44 PFF grade in run defense).

"You gotta embrace the role. You gotta be able to want to be double-teamed and want to get off the double team and make the play," Slaton declared. "You gotta want to be stretched in order to get better at doing these things. Because, I mean, if you don't really want to do it, if you don't have the mindset, it's not really gonna work out for you. But at the end of the day, like I was a young player who was eager to play, so I took on that role to make it mine, and that's what happened."

Slaton is the lone outside addition Cincinnati's made on its defenseive front as of this writing.

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