Whitworth wants the Bengals to make a big push for the Super Bowl.
The Cincinnati Bengals are a very conservative franchise and have been that way for a very long time. Someone extremely familiar with the way they do business is former Bengal Andrew Whitworth.
After moving on from the Bengals to the Los Angeles Rams, he saw them make several big, aggressive moves that eventually helped push them to the Super Bowl. He references those moves in the video below on Twitter, where he talks about the Bengals needing to make some aggressive moves like the Rams did in order to win it all.
I asked @AndrewWhitworth if, with Joe Burrow in his prime and crushing, he wishes the Bengals operated differently with their roster/contracts/talent.
He does
“Let me see that move where you go ‘wow they really swung for it.'”
Amazing This Is Football today. ESPN2 NOW. pic.twitter.com/LCoKMTPmcO
— Kevin Clark (@bykevinclark) December 17, 2024
The Rams’ aggressive moves did end up leading to a Super Bowl, a team that Whitworth was a part of, and beat the Bengals. While several key players were homegrown talent, there were others like Whitworth, Jalen Ramsey, and Matthew Stafford, who the Rams only had by making aggressive moves in free agency and through trades.
These aggressive moves did lead to a small team implosion in 2022, where they underperformed, but in 2023, they were right back in the playoffs and are firmly back in the playoff hunt in 2024, too.
Clearly, these aggressive moves were not too damaging in the long run, so it would be very encouraging if the Bengals could make an aggressive move. The team has Joe Burrow, but who knows for how long they can keep Burrow and the talented offensive core around.
The Bengals need to show that they are dedicated and hungry for a win as much as Burrow and the fans are. Make a big free agent push or a big trade to bring in some high-end talent to take this team to another level.
