'You Can Go Digest Rat Poison' - Demetrius Knight Jr, Barrett Carter Eager to Perform After Criticism

It's gameday for second-year Bengals linebackers Demetrius Knight Jr. and Barrett Carter. The hardened young players went through two of the worst linebacker seasons in the NFL last year, but the organizations didn't turn away from them, and now their character and response are ready to show out this time around.

The two are good friends, and believe they are made of the right stuff to power through last year's criticism and prove the team right for not bringing in any veteran free-agent linebackers to push them.

There are still guys like All-Pro Bobby Wagner on the market if things go south in a hurry again, but plenty of positive signs throughout training camp point to that not happening. The duo missed tackles at a high rate last season, but now they have much more talent in front of them on the defensive line to slow things down.

"Not really. If you're a fan of rat poison, you can go digest as much rat poison as you would like. You're just gonna not end up the same afterwards," Knight said to FOX19's Joe Danneman this week. "We told each other, hey, get out of that app. Don't look. It's not going to be good. It's not going to edify you. It's not going to build you up. It's not going to build your soul. Definitely not your spirit. People can be anywhere in the world and say whatever they want. And you know what? This is America. This is the U.S. You can say what you want. You got the freedom of speech to say what you want.

"But it's another thing to be in the person's shoes. It's inevitable. The second you make a bad play, you're gonna get blasted for it, and that just comes with the job. It comes with the job description. So if you can't handle the bullets, then this might not be the job for you. So you gotta have that character, and that's what I'm trying to do and trying to be. That's what we're trying to do together. Trying to be bigger than ourselves at this point."

Carter echoed the same sentiment, the season is finally almost over and the real games begin.

They are mentally built to respond this season.

"I think adversity does two things, and I learned this in college. It either builds you or it breaks you, and if you're not made of the right stuff, it's gonna break you," Carter said. "So I thought back to last year, like it was not easy by any means, but it's like I've been here before. I've been there when you're at the bottom, and everyone's throwing dirt on you, trying to bury you. But when you're at the bottom, the only place you can go is up."

Cincinnati kicks off against Tampa Bay at home in a few hours.

"(Online critics) can be anywhere in the world, saying anything (they) want, but it's another thing to be in a person's shoes."

Demetrius Knight Jr and Barrett Carter faced criticism, deleted apps, but say they're better for it.

See the interview Sunday morning on @FOX19 at 9. pic.twitter.com/kErVXmnWiI
— Joe Danneman (@FOX19Joe) September 12, 2026

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