The Cincinnati Bengals are on summer break and Jason is all doom and gloom. Kevin tries to bring him around.

On this episode:

-Shemar Stewart airs some dirty laundry about his contract negotiations with the Bengals.

-Trey Hendrickson is also holding out of minicamp, as he seeks an extension of his own.

-Germaine Pratt is now a Raider.

-It's a HUGE year for Dax Hill.

And more!

On this episode:

-What is James' opinion of the Bengals' offseason?

-What are the biggest concerns with the team's draft class?

-What has James seen from Al Golden in person at OTAs?

-Who are the most intriguing players with the Bengals entering minicamp?

-Everything Trey Hendrickson

And more!

It’s hard to imagine a more troubling rookie season then what Jermaine Burton had, and this is coming from a Bengals fan. I mean seriously, we lived through John Ross, Jackson Carman, Cedric Ogbuehi, and countless players who spent their first season on IR.

Burton may just take the cake. It started moments after he was drafted when his former head coach, a usually stoic Nick Saban, noticeably cringed. Saban praised neither the pick nor the player. He didn’t even talk about potential. He simply stated that Burton had a lot of maturing to do.

It continued with missed walk-throughs, healthy scratches, evictions, and worst of all, an alleged domestic assault.

I don’t think it is a stretch to say that most Bengals fans were ready to move on from Burton, but the Bengals were not.

Then: Silence.

Let’s face it, when it comes to Burton, no news is good news.

We went almost 5 months without hearing his name, which means he went the same amount of time without getting himself in trouble.

Now there have been a lot of whispers coming out OTAs that Burton may be on the right track. Zac Taylor and Joe Burrow have praised him. Burton has talked about his mistakes and the mentorship he has received from veterans like Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and B.J. Hill of all people.

He has a long way go to earn any trust from, well, anybody, but don’t we all love a redemption story.

Matt and Willie break down the Jermaine Burton Saga from New Moon to Breaking Dawn.

Be sure to subscribe to Bleav in Cincy to hear the latest from the whole crew on everything Cincinnati Bengals! In addition to Matt and Willie Know Ball, you’ll hear from the Orange and Black Insider, Bengal Jim and Friends, and Three-and-Out.

On this episode:

-Trey Hendrickson's contract holdout continues as OTAs commence.

-The Bengals ad Shemar Stewart are at a contract impasse, as Cincinnati is attempting to insert new contract language into his first round deal.

-Charlie Jones has flashed, but injuries have caused his pro career to sputter. Can he take the next step in year three?

-The Bengals have plans for Cam Sample on defense, but he'll need to prove valuable under new defensive coordinator Al Golden to be in the team's longer-term plans.

-And more!

Jason and Kevin are back to break down their early 53-man roster prediction. Who is in and who is out and who is on the bubble?

Olympic Flag Football Fever... Catch it! Spike it! Do a little dance.

It looks like NFL Players will be allowed to compete in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics much to the chagrin of the US National Flag Football Team (who have notably played and grown the sport, not to mention won multiple world championships over the last several years.)

Anywho... Matt and Willie have a flag football fantasy draft selecting only current Cincinnati Bengals players, but here is the catch, not one can play their natural position.

That's right, quarterbacks can’t play quarterback, offensive skill players can’t play receiver, defensive linemen can’t be pass-rushers, and defensive backs can’t play in coverage.

You got it?

A couple of things to note. There is no blocking in flag football, even on running plays. Also, the field is 70 yards long and only 25 yards wide.

On offense you get a quarterback and four receivers, one of who snaps the ball. Defensively you get one pass rusher and four coverage guys.

Here are the teams they came up with. They justify each pick after making the selection. Who do you think did better?

I don’t know about you, but I need a break from talking about extending a certain NFL sack champion of sack-pion if you will. I love Trey Hendrickson. I want him to be happy. I want it to be here. At this point, the conversation has become more Toxic than the subject of Briteny Spears’s 2003 banger of the same name. So, let’s talk about someone else, shall we?

On this week’s edition of “Matt and Willie Know Ball” we look to the future. The Bengals extended Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins. Yeah, even Higgins. Nobody thought they would do it, but they did it. Duke Tobin told the rest of the NFL to go get their own and he meant it. To paraphrase Ariana Grande (also notable for extensions) “You want ‘em. We got ‘em.”

Who could the Bengals look to extend in the next year?

Could it be a veteran offensive lineman? Perhaps the purveyor of a well-known haberdashery

We also discuss the Bengals Ring of Honor. After adding Tim Krumrie and Corey Dillon a year ago, the most obvious picks are already in. The Bengals Ring of Honor voting could be a much tighter race in 2025. Matt and Willie make their picks. Perhaps the voice of the franchise or someone who went to the Brown/Blackburn Alma Mater could be next.

And then there is the news that the NFL has voted to allow their players to participate in Olympic Flag Football. What’s that all about?

Jason and Kevin are back this week to discuss the 2025 Cincinnati Bengals schedule, which was released on Wednesday. They share their thoughts on the entire schedule and make week-by-week predictions.

On this episode:

-Trey Hendrickson and the Bengals continue their public stalemate.

-Aside from Cincinnati's desire for Hendrickson to honor his other recent contract extension, they are also continuing to maintain their long-standing precedent with players and contract issues.

-John and Anthony break down the Bengals' schedule game-by-game and give a way-too-early record prediction.

And more!