The Bengals have been cheap, for many years. Their franchise quarterback has forced them, for once, to not be cheap.
And they’re bragging about it.
The Bengals took to Twitter with an “in your face"-style video (“Actions Speak Louder”) to those in the media who believed the Bengals would behave the same way the Bengals always have. Ultimately, the Bengals broke character — presumably after they realized Burrow would eventually break up with them, if not sooner.
In recent weeks, Burrow sent multiple public messages regarding his belief that the Bengals can, and should, find a way to pay receiver Ja’Marr Chase and receiver Tee Higgins. And it’s fair to conclude that the team’s abrupt turn from planning to tag and trade Higgins to signing him happened after a private message was sent from Burrow that he expected Higgins to be done.
The Bengals didn’t wake up one day and decide to embark on a new, free-spending approach to business. Burrow put a proverbial gun to their head. They did something they didn’t want to do.
Which means it’s possibly an aberration and not the start of a trend.
So if they’re going to brag, they’d better be ready to continue. Pay Trey Hendrickson. Pay other deserving players. Hire more than four scouts, so that the team will do a better job of drafting the young players who will become the stars of tomorrow.
The Bengals are acting as if they’ve turned the page to a new reality that will be characterized by lavish spending and a fresh obsession with winning at all costs. Bookmark the tweet. Let’s see what happens.
Watch the expenditures limited by a salary cap. More importantly, watch the expenditures that aren’t. Will they beef up scouting? Will they otherwise spare no expense to lay the foundation to maximize the window of opportunity for winning championship(s) under Burrow?
Who knows what they’ll do? But I know this. The moment they revert to pinching pennies on anything, they’ll be reminded about their victory lap for finally behaving the way they should have been behaving for years.
If they’re smart, they won’t let that happen during the balance of Burrow’s prime.
