Andrew Whitworth Lays Out Mistake Bengals Made In His Prime They Can't Make Now

Cincinnati has a magnifying glass on its operations this offseason.

Nov 20, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Television analyst Andrew Whitworth waves before the game between the Houston Texans and the Buffalo Bills at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

CINCINNATI — The 2026 NFL offseason could produce juicy fruit for the Bengals roster, if the franchise chooses to get aggressive in an ideal window.

Cincinnati has top-10 cap space and top-10 draft picks in each draft round to parlay together into a lot of new talent for the 2026 roster. Former Bengals offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth wants them to get aggressive this offseason, unlike his prime offseasons in Cincinnati.

Whitworth played with Cincinnati from 2006-2016.

"I always said this when I was there. It wasn't about you guys letting me leave me that made me so mad at Cincinnati for letting me go," Whitworth said on his podcast, Fitz & Whit. "Obviously, that happened almost a year before that. But what I was always disappointed in is from 2011 to 2015, we went on this playoff run where we were competitive every year, and you look at our team, and it was like, man, where's that run where you just go, we've got a lot of talent, a lot of ability, let's go spend a couple of picks and get this elite guy. You just feel like you're always missing that."

Cincinnati has no excuse not to go after a bunch of new talent this offseason via free agency or trade, especially on defense. The resources are flush for them to use, and they have all their offensive stars under contract for what will keep being better and better contracts as those position markets expand with new deals.

The quarterback contract albatross isn't an excuse either. Joe Burrow's contract will never hit 16.4% of the salary cap or greater for the rest of the deal.

All the key offensive pieces are in place to chase the Lombardi Trophy, and the defense can get that boost if the Bengals choose to get aggressive.

Check out the full clip from Whitworth below:

“Our talent evaluation seems to be really really really lacking, and it’s not just our collegiate evaluation.”

Cincinnati Bengals fan Nick Lachey is fed up 😂 pic.twitter.com/K8LsVPqKbq

— Fitz & Whit (@fitzandwhit) February 16, 2026

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