Zac Taylor 'Very Confident' in Bengals' Communication with Carlos Dunlap

Zac Taylor 'Very Confident' in Bengals' Communication with Carlos Dunlap

CINCINNATI — Bengals defensive end Carlos Dunlap voiced his frustration on Thursday after the coaching staff took him out of the starting lineup. 

"They just put a depth chart on the board. They didn’t really talk to me," a frustrated Dunlap said. "It sounds like it's not going to be me in there. I think they want a different run stopper. I think I can give that to them."

Dunlap said he didn't know about the move until he saw it on the depth chart. 

Bengals head coach Zac Taylor didn't get into particulars, but he believes the team handled the move the right way. 

"We always do things to put ourselves in the best position. Sometimes that can lead to frustration and that's OK," Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said on Friday. "I'm very confident with how we communicated things. 

Carl Lawson will start in Dunlap's place. He's having the best season of his young career. Lawson leads the Bengals with 3.5 sacks. No one else on the team has more than one. 

Dunlap has made 102 regular-season starts in a row dating back to the 2013 season, excluding a two-game absence last season due to injury.

"We'll keep that to ourselves," Taylor said when asked how the move was relayed to Dunlap. "We'll keep that to ourselves. We'll keep those conversations behind close doors, but I'm very confident with how we communicate things with our players. I feel great about that."

Dunlap, 31, doesn't have a sack this season. He has 81.5 in his career, which is just two shy of Eddie Edwards' franchise record (83.5). 

On Thursday night, Dunlap said that he was going to "go even harder" when he's called upon, despite being benched in favor of Lawson. 

He's still expected to be on the field for 50-55% of the Bengals defensive snaps on Sunday against Baltimore. He'll have a major role on passing downs.

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