The Cincinnati Bengals felt the urgency this offseason—both within and outside of Paycor Stadium—to make 2026 a potential banner year for the club. After preaching an “All-In” mindset in the early months of the offseason, the Bengals made good on that notion, with strong outside free agent acquisitions, as well as a blockbuster trade for defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence.
Additional roster splashes have cooled down since the Draft, but Cincinnati’s Assistant General Manager, Steve Radicevic, recently noted that the Bengals are continuing to monitor the roster for improvements. On the newly created, Cincinnati-based network, “The Crown,” Radicevic told Marissa Contipelli that Cincinnati is “not done” making additions.
“We’re not done,” Radicevic said. “We still feel like there’s work on our end that we need to do.
“Are we happy with where things are and the way the offseason went? Yes, but we’re still working to try and build as many pieces as we can to try to get us to the Super Bowl.”
The Bengals appeared to be on the threshold of a budding dynasty at the beginning of this decade, given their appearance in Super Bowl LVI and subsequent 2022 AFC Championship Game battle with the Kansas City Chiefs. However, roster attrition, injuries, stale offseason approaches, and other misfortunes have led to a lot of questions over the past three seasons.
Radicevic and the rest of the front office made a number of moves that were well out of the Bengals’ traditional comfort zone, proving their desire to get back to the postseason. The defensive side of the ball and strategic offensive depth additions were the main priorities for Cincinnati this spring.
In terms of who and which positions Radicevic was hinting at remains to be seen. Linebacker is an obvious area, but the team may be scouring the waiver wire during training camp and the preseason for various other spots.
It’s possible that gauging things at OTAs prompted the team to further embrace this mindset, but ‘not being fully satisfied with the status quo’ definitely has a championship-like aura. It’s also possible that the blockbuster trade of Myles Garrett to the Rams reinvigorated the ‘Keeping up with the Joneses’ mindset by the Bengals’ front office.
Regardless, Cincinnati has made some moves right before the season when looking at other teams’ final cuts in the Zac Taylor era, so that may be an avenue once again.
In terms of returning Super Bowl aspirations and the expectations of the Bengals this year, Contipelli asked Radicevic a poignant question on whether 2026 was a ‘defining season’ for the franchise. The team’s Assistant G.M. stopped short of fully agreeing with that notion, but again, the urgency was transparent in his response.
“I don’t know if you’d say it’s ‘defining’, but I do think it’s a strong group of players who have played together now for some time, and I think it’s a talented group,” Radicevic stated. “It’s a group that we have to go out and try to win a Super Bowl this year.”
For those who have been following this team for some time, hearing terms like ‘winning a Super Bowl,’ and seeing the team’s offseason moves are far cries from years prior. It’s a refreshing change from ‘being competitive’ and other placating phrases once used by this same front office.
This exciting Bengals offseason continues and may not be done in terms of more new faces on the roster.