Translating Duke Tobin's Comments About Crucial Cincinnati Bengals' Offseason

The Bengals Director of Player Personnel made some comments that left fans frustrated this week.

Bengals Director of Player Personnel Duke Tobin watches practices during the 2024 Senior Bowl in Mobile Alabama / Phil Didion/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

Duke Tobin’s interviews with Kelsey Conway and Geoff Hobson have drawn strong reactions from Bengals fans on social media who are concerned with the team’s future after a disappointing 2024 season.

Between a Twitter poll and reactions I observed on social media platforms, the Bengals front office doesn't have the benefit of the doubt from the fan base. After watching Jessie Bates' departure, Ja'Marr Chase's hold-in, and the frustrating lack of negotiations with Tee Higgins, skepticism is reasonable. But we've been parsing Tobin's interviews long enough to read between the lines. Let's dive into the quotes to translate "GM speak."

Time to take the pulse of the fanbase (that follows me)

How are you feeling about the various Duke Tobin quotes circulating today?

— Jake Liscow (@JakeLiscow) January 30, 2025

Big Contracts

The first thing most fans wanted to dissect were Tobin’s comments on Higgins and Trey Hendrickson. Chase’s extension is all but a foregone conclusion at this point, with Tobin telling Hobson “if he's the highest-paid non-quarterback in the league, we accept that," and Conway that it "should be a pretty easy framework to work off of" and "I would expect that we could come together on something that makes sense for both sides."

But the forecast is murkier when evaluating his remarks about Cincinnati’s other stars with contract questions as Tobin's language clearly attempts to maintain his negotiating leverage, often calling for agent "engagement" and taking every opportunity to remind fans that negotiations are two-sided. This is normal for opposed negotiating parties (organization vs. player), but the Bengals also have a history of low-ball offers torpedoing contract talks before they can begin. The team should never want to get to that point with any player or agent, but that feels especially true this offseason.

Trey Hendrickson Getting His Extension?

Short answer: They'll try to get a third contract done, and they've gotten an extension done with Hendrickson before. After a career year that will likely feature Defensive Player of the Year votes, his pricetag may have gone up, so it could depend on what his camp is asking for. I don't think the Bengals are going to reset the edge rusher market. But if they can't get it done, a complicated rebuild on defense adds a massive variable.

Long answer: Hendrickson is the only player scheduled to return on defense in 2025 who had an unambiguously good season in 2024. He also had a well-documented contract dispute before the 2024 season when he wanted an extension or to be traded. With two years left on his deal, he backed off those demands and led the NFL in sacks and secured AP All-Pro honors. Now, Hendrickson and his agent will once again be looking for financial security in the form of an extension.

When asked about the plans to extend Hendrickson, Tobin said:

"We would like to get Trey extended? Yes, he's an important part that played well for us, right? We can't have guys at the top of the payroll in every position, right? We'll do what we can. We'll do what we feel is right, and we will try to get Trey re-signed... Has he earned a pay raise and a bump in an extension? He has and we were cognizant of that, and we will give that to him. But whether we agree on what that looks like is what is to be determined." - Duke Tobin to Kelsey Conway

While this language stoked concerns for some over "cheapness", he's openly confirming that Hendrickson has earned a raise and an extension. Combine this response with another quote when Tobin answered a question about "where retooling the defense starts", and it's clear that expected cuts are coming as the team looks to ensure it is paying for production.

"How much of that money gets funneled into the guys that really produced for us this year, and away from guys maybe that didn't and those are tough decisions. There's not a player in our locker room I don't believe in... But we're gonna have to make some hard decisions as we move into next year." - Duke Tobin to Kelsey Conway

Who actually earned that money on defense in 2024? I can only come up with Hendrickson.

I think this clearly points to the Bengals prioritizing making their best defensive player happy with an extension. They're going to try, and if they don't succeed it gets that much harder to "retool" the defense. Whether their efforts get the job done is unknown, and fans are fairly skeptical after watching the front office fail to complete several contracts with key players in recent years.

Will The Bengals Keep Tee Higgins?

Short answer: Flip a coin. The Bengals will hope that Rocky Arcineaux, who represents Chase and Higgins, is "engaged" with negotiations. Then it'll come down to money.

Long answer: There seems to be a clear plan to offer Higgins a contract to remain a Cincinnati Bengal, which I did not expect before Higgins changed his agent in December. But Tobin's language around Higgins' future is full of uncertainty.

"It's going to be hard. We feel like we have the resources to do it, but it all depends on how the negotiation goes and whether they're willing to accept wanting to come back at a number that makes sense for everybody... I've always been very upfront in my desire to have Tee Higgins on our team... but we have to be able to come together with his representation on what that means and what the right number is for his experience, for his play time, for his production. And let's find something that works for everybody, because he is a guy that we want to have here, and hopefully that can come together, but we have other guys who are trying to take big bites of the apple in other areas, and we're going to have to balance those as we go forward." - Duke Tobin to Kelsey Conway

On the one hand, Tobin notes that they have the resources and want Higgins to be a Bengal. Great! On the other, he says it's going to be hard, invokes a food metaphor, and goes out of his way to mention Higgins' play time after another contract season that saw the receiver miss time with injuries. That conjours concerns about whether the team will value Higgins enough to make a good offer.

Burrow has repeatedly named Higgins a necessity and mentioned a plan to keep him. Tobin, who meets with Burrow every offseason to discuss the team's direction, has undoubtedly heard that perspective.

Chase's extension feels inevitable. Hendrickson appears to be a priority. Higgins? Flip a coin.
It's worth noting that the Bengals have a franchise tag option as well, and the worst case should be a tag-and-trade—not simply letting him walk in free agency to a potential rival. But Tobin continues to point to a requirement for negotiation "engagement" from the agent to get a deal done. Reiterating this point feels significant, perhaps airing a greivance from the Bengals' perspective.

"It's all about finding a contract that works for both sides, and if we're really engaged with his representation at doing that, I think we can get it done. But if there's no engagement to get something done that makes sense, then it's going to be very difficult, and we'll have to see what other avenues we have." - Duke Tobin to Kelsey Conway

Fixing The Defense

In debriefing 2024's defensive letdown, Tobin said the plan was to keep players together from the Super Bowl roster, and admitted that plan failed. They were obviously missing key pieces—we're still talking about free safety and pass rushers. So, he talked about retooling the defense and repeatedly brought up "tough decisions" the Bengals will have to make this offseason. Changes are coming. The question will be whether they're significant enough.

"The thing that we're going to have to evaluate going into next year is who is going to play up to that and who isn't. And we're going to have to make changes there, and there's going to have to be an influx of young players, and we're going to have to reevaluate where the money is being spent, and how much is being spent on each position. And so that is the thing that we are going to do this offseason [is ask] is that money going where it needs to go?" - Duke Tobin to Kelsey Conway

Where will the changes be? Tobin told Hobson that "the number one thing we've got to try and do is get better on defense" and emphasized trench play. The Bengals had one of the NFL's highest cap numbers on the defensive line in 2024 and didn't get that kind of production. Primarily, big expenditures on Sam Hubbard (who will likely be cut or take a pay cut) and Sheldon Rankins (who will likely be cut) fell flat. Questions remain on the future of Germaine Pratt with the return of Al Golden, his former position coach.

For young guys, Tobin is keen to see better development and remains bullish on Kris Jenkins, McKinnley Jackson, and Myles Murphy, but also said they were looking to add on the defensive front. That's no surprise given the rest of his comments. But I'm curious how far they'll go at edge rusher before the draft given Tobin's answers about Murphy's future.

"[Myles will] get in a groove the more he plays. He has to learn to finish at the top of his rushes. It's not a length problem, and not an explosion problem, it's a finish at-the-top problem. I still see the traits in him. I still think he can have a great career here and I'm looking for him to take the next step." - Duke Tobin to Geoff Hobson

In the secondary, Tobin's comments sound like they're ready to roll with the current group at cornerback while exploring yet another potential change at free safety as they're still paying the price for Jessie Bates' departure. Geno Stone's fit will be a question with a new defensive staff. But while Tobin specifically mentioned adding to several position groups (DL, guard), he didn't discuss adding to the corner room. He emphasized the importance in getting Cam Taylor-Britt to return to form and praised young depth pieces in Josh Newton and DJ Ivey in the wake of DJ Turner and Dax Hill's injuries.

Overall, their plan appears to be: reallocate money from disappointing players and look for improvements on the defensive interior, and strongly consider changes at linebacker and safety. Tobin wasn't asked about the edge rusher position besides Hendrickson and Murphy, but he didn't make comments about adding to that room. That said, they will need to add an edge or two just to have a full rotation for 2025.

Guard Is A Priority

People saw Tobin's comments about "competition" at guard and, in my opinion, missed the forest for the trees. Competition here might be about making the 53-man roster in 2025, but saying there will be competition means that what they ran out there in 2024 wasn't something they're keen to run back. To me, the quote straight-forwardly confirms that they will prioritize improvement. This isn't ambiguous.

"The way that we play, it requires a firm pocket and we've hired a new offensive line coach... We're hopeful that there can be some improvements made technique wise with him. We're going to add to the position. For sure there will be competition at those positions, we have to evaluate who will come back and who will not come back. It's a spot that we're focused on. We're going to continue working with guys that we have on the roster, and we are going to try to evaluate how to get better with guys that aren't currently on the roster, and whether that's young guys from the draft, whether that's free agents... we're going to add to that group. We're definitely going to add to that group." - Duke Tobin to Kelsey Conway

Talking about the offensive line on the whole, Tobin was a bit more defensive. I think he likes their tackles and center.

Wrap It Up

Tobin expressed in both interviews that he thought the Bengals were never outclassed in 2024 and went so far as to tell Conway "nobody really wanted to face us at the end of the year if we were in the playoffs." He appears to truly believe the team just couldn't finish games well enough, but he bristled at the idea that they were far off.

But his answers to other questions betray an understanding that they weren't good enough in key areas identified for improvement. He recognized that Burrow felt pressed to play hero ball because of the Bengals' thin margin for error. And he took ownership of that letdown, reflecting on a failed strategy to run it back with guys who helped the team win in 2021 and 2022.

"There are elements of our team that we have to get better at. We have to play better defense. We have to run the ball a little better. But that goes hand in hand with playing defense. If you believe that you're going to hold the team, then you're a little more flexible to do some things differently on offense... I know for a fact, Joe felt very pressed to play in the way that he played, to try to keep us ahead in these games... It's not an indictment on anybody more than me." - Duke Tobin to Kelsey Conway

Whether or not the front office can execute to effectively find those improvements remains to be seen, and recent free agency decisions and draft whiffs have fans skeptical they'll pony up the cash or sign the right (or enough) players to field a championship roster. And it's not just fans who want to pressure the front office.

During Thursday night's Pro Bowl Games, Burrow continued to exert public pressure on the team to pay players what they're worth when asked about Chase's contract talks.

“I don’t know what more he could show and do to prove himself," Burrow said. "We have several guys like that, who have stepped up for us, and deserve to be paid—deserve to be paid what they’re worth.”

I think Tobin's answers in these interviews largely point to the kind of awareness most fans are asking for, but self-awareness doesn't sign contracts. Complaints about the salary cap via food metaphor continue to feed nightmares, and given the team's recent track record, waiting to see it to believe it makes sense. If the Bengals want to win back trust—and championships—their actions will need to prove it.

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