'No Internal Communication' - NFL Agents Lambaste Cincinnati Bengals Front Office in Annual Survey

Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson (91) talks with director of player personnel Duke Tobin before the first quarter of the NFL Preseason Week 2 game between the Washington Commanders and the Cincinnati Bengals at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Md., on Monday, Aug. 18, 2025. | Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

CINCINNATI – First it was the players in the annual NFLPA survey. Now it's the agents across the league who are excoriating Cincinnati Bengals ownership and management.

The Bengals are the most unstable franchise in the NFL, according to an annual survey of NFL agents.

Veteran Washington Commanders reporter Ben Stadig published his seventh annual NFL agent survey, which compiled candid, anonymous responses to questions about the Jerry Jones-Micah Parsons spat, Shedeur Sanders’ slide in the draft and the best and worst organizations.

On the latter, the Bengals received 23 percent of the votes being the most unstable franchise in the league.

Standig surveyed 24 agents, and the Bengals received 5.5 votes, followed by the Dallas Cowboys (3.5), Cleveland Browns (3), Carolina Panthers (3), Chicago Bears (2) and Jacksonville Jaguars (2).

“There is always some kind of issue there and not much accountability,” one agent wrote. “This offseason, the contract negotiation for Trey Hendrickson and the language in the contract of their first-round pick are great examples. Every agent knows what’s coming.”

The standoffs with Hendrickson and first-round pick Shemar Stewart made for lead segment fodder across the NFL landscape this offseason.

“Mom and pop ownership,” another agent responded. “In 2025. Makes it difficult to navigate.”

The 2025 NFL agent survey: Contract wars, power plays, quiet parts said out loud

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— Ben Standig (@BenStandig) September 4, 2025

Conversely, on the question about the franchise that most has its act together, the Bengals’ AFC North Rival Baltimore Ravens came in tied for second behind the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.

Two other franchise standing in the way of the Bengals winning another AFC championship – the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills – also received votes.

Another survey question focused specifically on general managers and front offices.

Asked which was the most difficult to navigate, the agents overwhelmingly picked the Bengals with 31 percent of the votes (7.5).

The Cowboys came in second and barely had half as many (4) votes.

“Unreasonable and cheap,” one agent said.

“This is less about Duke (Tobin), though he plays a role,” another agent responded. “They have five different people doing the same job. Seems like there is no internal communication.”

“Who’s in charge?” another agent responded after an exasperated paused. “It’s like the Wild West days. You do into a saloon, inevitably something happens, but you know the bartender isn’t really in charge.”

Standig’s survey also featured a topic on which quarterbacks will define the NFL’s next decade, and Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow was among the top vote getters.

There also are questions about Bill Belichick’s last 18 months, the NFLPA saga, the league’s most influential people not named Roger Godell and much more.

Click here to read Standig’s full survey.