He has a point.
Despite having the most prolific quarterback-receiver duo in the entire NFL this season in Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase, the Cincinnati Bengals boast an overall record of 4-7 and are in danger of missing the playoffs for a second consecutive year.
Steve Young thinks the blame for Cincinnati’s struggles should start with ownership
When it comes to assigning blame for Cincinnati’s struggles this season, legendary NFL quarterback Steve Young thinks you need to start at the top. All the way at the top.
“I think what you gotta do is not look at Joe Burrow.” Young said during a recent appearance on the Dan Patrick Show. “You probably have to look at everyone else. We don’t do a good job of looking at the owner in the NFL.
“And I think we should do more of that, personally, because I think it speaks to a lot of what’s happening on the field. Of course, we can’t fire the owners…I’m just saying when things look really weird, go to the top and then work down.”
There’s plenty of blame to go around when it comes to Cincinnati’s struggles, but Young is completely correct in starting with ownership. As an organization, the Bengals have been cheap, reactive as opposed to proactive, and stuck in their own ways for far too long. As a result, they may have effectively closed their own Super Bowl window.
Over the past two years alone, the Bengals allowed safety Jessie Bates III to walk in free agency and traded running back Joe Mixon because they didn’t want to pay either player what they were worth. It’s not a coincidence that both players are thriving with their new teams, while the secondary and backfield are two major problem areas for Cincinnati this season.
Tee Higgins is next in line, as the Bengals appear poised to let him walk for nothing in free agency over the offseason, despite his productive play over his first five seasons in the league.
When you have a signal-caller as good as Burrow, an organization should be everything in its power to maximize his immense talent and surround him with as strong of a supporting cast as possible. Instead, the Bengals have done the opposite by cutting corners and refusing to pay their own players their fair market value. Unfortunately for fans in Cincinnati, that’s just how the organization operates, and that starts at the top, as Young alluded to.
