Duke Tobin didn’t exactly pour gasoline on Bengals fans’ optimism Monday.
With veterans set to report to training camp, the Cincinnati front office was asked about the futures of DJ Turner, Dax Hill and Chase Brown. Tobin’s answer made one thing clear: no one should be expecting a quick extension for Turner, even after the cornerback’s phenomenal 2025 season.
“I’m not going to make any predictions about future contracts. We have everyone signed up right now, which is really good.
It's a good feeling. I think everyone is locked in on the season, and we'll see what the future holds.
But right now, our focus is winning and winning now. I'm not going to give any potential contract details or anything like that.
Everyone's under contract, and we want the good players to stay here long term. That's always the way we've been.”
That’s the kind of line that keeps the paperwork in the future and the frustration in the present.
The Bengals have had a busy offseason, and there’s real reason for optimism. The Dexter Lawrence trade, along with the other additions on defense, has changed the mood around this team. Cincinnati has clearly spent the offseason trying to build something sturdier on that side of the ball.
But the DJ Turner situation still hangs there, and it lands differently because of what happened last year.
The Bengals already went through two major contract headaches in the previous offseason. 2025 first-round pick Shemar Stewart didn’t sign his rookie deal until late July and sat out every practice before then. He then had an injury-riddled first pro season and flopped.
Then came Trey Hendrickson. Cincinnati passed on extending him in each of the two offseasons before that, even after he put up 17.5 sacks in both seasons. Hendrickson held in at camp, eventually got his pay bump, and then left for the AFC North rival Baltimore Ravens in free agency.
That’s why Tobin’s cautious tone doesn’t exactly land as harmless. Bengals fans have seen how these things can drag on, and they’ve seen the cost.
Turner’s case is different, though, and that matters. Cincinnati has spent this offseason loading up on proven defensive talent, and that work had to take priority. The club also had to juggle the salary cap, including the unusual move to restructure Joe Burrow’s contract.
There’s been plenty of time since that Burrow restructure and since second-round rookie Cashius Howell signed his deal in early June for the Bengals to get ahead of Turner’s next contract. At this point, the delay doesn’t really have a clean excuse.
The encouraging part for Cincinnati is that Turner’s extension wouldn’t affect this season’s cap picture in any major way, since he’s in the final year of his rookie deal. And there’s another wrinkle: Turner and Hill share representation, which could open the door to a double signing similar to what happened when Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins got their new contracts together through the same agent.
The Bengals have a chance here to do this the right way and avoid another drawn-out mess. Waiting cost them more money with Chase and Higgins. Turner gives them a shot to show this offseason’s shift is real.
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Zac Taylor Just Sent A Different Message About Bengals Expectations
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What makes this worth watching is how that pressure may be shaping the way he leads. Taylor has suggested it is pushing him to be more demanding and more accountable with his coaching staff, a subtle but meaningful change for a team that has not yet played a regular-season or preseason game. The Bengals still have to show it on the field, but the tone around the building already sounds a little different. [Read more 🡒]