The Bengals announced that the leading rusher in franchise history will be entering the team’s Ring of Honor.
Such an announcement would be expected in most circumstances, but things haven’t always been smooth between Corey Dillon and the Bengals. The running back and the team had acrimonious battles over his contract and Dillon threw his helmet and pads into the stands after what turned out to be his final game with the team in 2003. Since retiring, Dillon has criticized the team for not doing right by their former players and called it “damn-near criminal” that he was not in their Ring of Honor.
A vote by the team’s fans remedied that and Dillon said in a press conference on Thursday that he is ready to put any past problems to bed.
“I think time heals everything,” Dillon said, via Ben Baby of ESPN.com. “We had our due process of healing in our different ways. It’s been long enough. I don’t think the antics outweighed the production on the field, you know what I mean? I think what I presented to the organization outweighed the little antics that went on.”
Longtime defensive lineman Tim Krumrie will be joining Dillon as an inductee during a Monday night game against the Commanders on September 23.
Former NFL running back Corey Dillon said last year that it was “damn-near criminal” that he was not in the Bengals Ring of Honor, so he was likely happy to hear the team’s announcement about 2024 inductees on Thursday.
The team announced that Dillon and defensive tackle Tim Krumrie will be inducted into the Ring of Honor this year. The induction ceremony will be held at halftime of the team’s Monday night game against the Commanders on September 23.
Dillon was a 1997 second-round pick and spent seven seasons with the Bengals. He is the franchise leader with 1,865 rushing attempts and 8,061 rushing yards, and he also has the top three single-game rushing performances in Bengals history. He moved on to the Patriots and won a Super Bowl in the first of his three seasons in New England.
Krumrie was a 10th-round pick in 1983 and he played with the Bengals through the 1994 season. He was a first-team All-Pro in 1988 and the Bengals advanced to the Super Bowl that season, but Krumrie broke his tibia and fibula during their loss to the 49ers. He returned the next season and coached for the Bengals from 1995 to 2002 after retiring as a player.
The Bengals hit the jackpot when they drafted wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase with the fifth pick in the first round of the 2021 draft and the Giants hope they did the same by taking a wideout from Chase’s alma mater with the sixth overall pick this year.
Malik Nabers followed in Chase’s footsteps at LSU before becoming the top Giants draft choice this spring. Nabers’s work in the offseason program drew plenty of praise and his fellow wideout Darius Slayton didn’t do anything to slow down the hype train when he compared the rookie to Chase during an appearance on the All Facts No Brakes podcast with Keyshawn Johnson.
“He’s looked good,” Slayton said. “Honestly in my opinion he reminds me of Ja’Marr Chase, it’s like a clone. Malik’s about six-foot, they���re about the same size,” said Slayton. “Dimensionaly they’re about the same, his body movements, it’s actually kind of weird watching him move around. He’s really talented, he’s got good hands. For us, our system, the biggest hiccup as a rookie is trying to get down all these terminologies Daboll has for us. Once he gets all that down, you know I think he’ll have no problem having success.”
Slayton has been the leading receiver for the Giants for most of his five-year run with the NFC East team. Nabers’s arrival might put an end to that, but it’s hard to imagine the Giants seeing that as a negative development.
If Sam Hartman and five other rookie quarterbacks don’t make it in the NFL, they’ll have an opportunity waiting for him in another league.
Six of the quarterbacks drafted today by the UFL are currently on NFL rosters.
The Birmingham Stallions took Hartman in the ninth round. The Arlington Renegades took UCF quarterback John Rhys Plumlee in round one, the D.C. Defenders took BYU quarterback Kedon Slovis in round two and Wisconsin quarterback Tanner Mordecai in round nine, the Memphis Showboats took Kansas quarterback Jason Bean in round one, the Michigan Panthers took Northern Illinois quarterback Rocky Lombardi in round five, and the St. Louis Battlehawks took San Jose State quarterback Chevan Cordeiro in round one.
Only Cordeiro, who was signed by the Seahawks and released in early May, isn’t currently on an NFL roster.
Hartman signed with the Commanders after the draft. Rhys Plumlee currently is on the Steelers’ roster. Slovis signed with the Colts. Mordecai plays for the 49ers. Bean plays for the Colts. Lombardi plays for the Bengals.
Five first-round picks remain unsigned. The Bears have two and the Vikings have two.
As to quarterback J.J. McCarthy, a source with knowledge of the situation says that the Vikings haven’t engaged much when it comes to negotiating the contract.
One possible explanation is that the Vikings want to see what happens with the Caleb Williams contract before finalizing things with McCarthy, the tenth overall pick. If the unverified social-media chatter that McCarthy wants his full signing bonus right away is accurate, that would make sense. If Williams doesn’t get his full signing bonus right away as the first overall selection, it’s easier to tell McCarthy that, at most, he’ll get the same payment schedule that Williams received.
With the contracts for draft picks slotted as to value, there are three major issues for haggling: (1) signing bonus cash flow; (2) language to void remaining guarantees; (3) offset language as to the remaining guarantees.
In addition to Williams and McCarthy, Bears receiver Rome Odunze, Vikings edge rusher Dallas Turner, and Bengals tackle Amarius Sims are the other unsigned first-round picks.
For all first-round picks, the four-year rookie deal is fully guaranteed.
The Bears rookies report for training camp today. The Vikings’ rookies report on Saturday, July 21.