The Bengals’ roster may look different, but the old hands in the building still matter just as much as the new faces.
That’s the thread running through Cincinnati’s locker room right now. Yes, the fresh additions have changed the feel. But the veterans who were already there have been just as important in shaping the culture, and in a few key spots, they may be the reason the whole thing keeps clicking.
Start with the secondary, where Jalen Davis has quietly become one of the most valuable voices on the team.
After spending years on the practice squad and handling occasional special teams work, Davis finally got his shot last season at nickelback. That move pushed Dax Hill back outside, where he looks most natural, and set up what should be one of the NFL’s top perimeter cornerback pairings in 2026 with Hill and DJ Turner.
A lot of that growth, apparently, traces back to Davis.
Back in December, Bengals cornerbacks coach Charles Burks offered a revealing look at Davis’ influence, speaking to Bengals beat reporter Charlie Goldsmith:
"Jalen may not talk a lot, but being the veteran in the group, he really does bring those guys together. They really look up to him. He has really helped DJ Turner is a lot of ways."
That kind of impact matters even more when you remember how rocky Hill’s path has been. For a while, he looked like a first-round miss.
He moved from safety to boundary corner, then suffered an ACL tear in 2024. Cincinnati started him in the slot last season before shifting him back outside again.
If Davis helped Turner the way Burks said he did, it’s fair to think he also played a part in helping Hill navigate all that turbulence.
And Davis’ value isn’t just about the guidance he gives others. He’s earned his place.
He’s been with the Bengals since 2020, waited patiently behind Mike Hilton at nickel, and now heads into Week 1 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the clear starter. That’s a pretty good payoff for a player who kept grinding in the background.
The quarterback room has its own steadying presence, too, and it comes in the form of Joe Flacco.
After turning in eye-catching work last season while filling in for an injured Joe Burrow, Flacco had a chance to chase a starting job elsewhere in free agency. Those offers, evidently, didn’t measure up to what Cincinnati had on the table, so he stayed put.
That decision gives the Bengals something rare: a backup quarterback who can still really play, and one with a résumé that speaks for itself. Flacco was a huge part of why the 2025 season became so entertaining after the Browns traded him to Cincinnati out of nowhere. If the defense had held up and if he hadn’t sprained the AC joint in his throwing shoulder, he might have dragged the Bengals to the postseason without Burrow.
Instead, he’s back in the QB2 role, where he might be the best backup in football.
Flacco brings more than just insurance. He brings perspective, and plenty of it.
He knows what it takes to win big, and that experience can only help Burrow, who already has the smarts and command to lead the franchise. If Burrow ever needs a sounding board, Flacco is right there.
He’s the kind of veteran who can function like an assistant coach, while also giving the first-team defense quality work in practice.
Then there’s Ted Karras, the steady center who continues to set the tone up front.
Karras is the one snapping the ball to Burrow, and he’s exactly the kind of rugged veteran Cincinnati needs as it moves toward a more under-center offense. The Bengals also drafted two possible successors in Connor Lew and Brian Parker II in 2026, with the 21-year-old Lew lining up as the next man up and Karras entering the final year of his contract.
None of that seems to have shaken him.
Karras has long been one of the toughest, sharpest players on the roster, and his importance only grows when the offense is changing around him. He can keep the line organized, lighten Burrow’s mental load, and make sure the operation stays clean in the trenches.
He also brings something the Bengals clearly need: volume, presence, and accountability. Davis isn’t a big talker.
Burrow is still growing into that role. Flacco isn’t built that way either.
Karras is the guy who can step in and carry the emotional weight when the room needs it.
That’s why he matters so much, whether 2026 ends up being his final run in Cincinnati or not. He’s been the glue for an offensive line that went from being a bad run-blocking group last year to one of the better ones in the league by season’s end.
In Other News...
Bengals Suddenly Have A Week 1 Concern In The Secondary
A new Week 1 concern surfaced in Cincinnati when cornerback DJ Turner showed up on the injury report with a hamstring issue after a limited practice. The timing is less than ideal with the season opener looming, especially since Turner is expected to handle the matchup against wide receiver Emeka Egbuka. It adds a little more uncertainty to a secondary that would rather spend the final days before kickoff tightening up its communication than managing late-week health questions.
The Bengals have spent plenty of time this offseason talking up their readiness for the new year, with JaMarr Chases career milestones also part of the broader conversation around what the offense could do next. But defensive availability can change the tone of a Week 1 game quickly, and Turners status is now one of the more important things to watch as Cincinnati finalizes its plan. If he is less than full speed, the Bengals may have to adjust on the fly in a spot where they would prefer not to be improvising. [Read more 🡒]
Bengals Already Face One 2026 Trap Zac Taylor Can't Ignore
JaMarr Chase and Tee Higgins used Chases podcast to take a grounded look at Cincinnatis 2026 slate, even as outside projections have already painted it as one of the softer paths in the league. The Bengals top receivers made it clear they are not buying into the idea that any week offers a free pass, which is usually the right instinct in a league where schedules can look very different by December than they did in the spring.
Higgins also pointed to the way Zac Taylor approaches the grind, with the coaching staff treating every opponent like a real test instead of leaning on preseason reputation. That matters for Cincinnati, because schedule rankings based on past win percentage or Vegas forecasts can be useful shorthand, but they are still only guesses until the season starts and teams reveal who they really are. [Read more 🡒]
Joe Burrow Just Gave Bengals Fans A New MVP Argument
Austin Mock of The Athletic has put together a new quarterback evaluation tool called QB index, or QBI, and it is built to separate what a passer is doing from the help around him. The metric blends analytics and film study, including PFF grades, to create a broader read on quarterback play, which makes it especially interesting for a Bengals team that has spent plenty of time debating just how much of Joe Burrows brilliance is his own.
The early 2025 QBI rankings give Cincinnati fans plenty to point to in that argument. Burrow is at the top of the list, and the eye-opener is that the ranking still favors him even after accounting for receiver quality and offensive line performance, two of the biggest variables in judging any quarterback. For a fan base that has long believed its franchise passer belongs in the leagues top tier, this is the kind of outside validation that will keep the MVP talk humming. [Read more 🡒]