Duke Tobin makes it painfully obvious the Bengals will try solving a problem they couldn’t solve last year
Cincinnati’s Duke Tobin has his eyes up front on defense this offseason.
Running it back for the Cincinnati Bengals doesn’t just mean director of player personnel Duke Tobin will be continuing his role and process within the club, he’ll also be looking at similar roster needs as last year as well.
The Bengals’ defense needs improved play at linebacker and safety, like it did in 2025, but defensive linemen who can rush the passer remains a pressing need as well. There’s a strong argument for those players being the most valuable on that side of the ball.
Tobin seems to agree, and made it clear during Friday’s end-of-season press conference he’ll have his eyes on adding to Cincinnati’s defensive line to bolster the pass rush.
“Successful defenses, in my opinion, they have to be able to pressure the passer,” Tobin said. “You’d like to be able to pressure with four. I think we need pass rush. I think that relieves some of the strain on the coverage.
“I’m a guy that believes in the front on both sides of the ball, that is my focus.”
Looking at what the Bengals did in both free agency and the 2025 NFL Draft, it’s fair to say this was Tobin’s focus last year as well.
Bengals will try to reignite their pass rush like they couldn’t in 2025
Tobin wasn’t shy about reminding everyone Cincinnati extended Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins to massive contracts last March, but those deals only maintained the talent level of the roster. B.J. Hill’s three-year, $33 million contract, signed right after the official opening of free agency, did the same.
Hill’s deal ended up being the largest signed by a defensive player for the Bengals last year in terms of overall cash value. Trey Hendrickson ended up getting a revised $29 million deal for just the 2025 season. Joseph Ossai and Cam Sample were also retained on one-year deals. All of them were paid to keep the pass-rush above water. The only real move to elevate the unit was drafting Shemar Stewart No. 17 overall.
Cincinnati went from generating 216 pressures with its defensive line in 2024 to 222 in 2025. The group’s sack total went down from 34.5 to 28, respectively. Part of that is due to Hendrickson missing most of the season, but even in the seven games he played in 2025, the 2024 All-Pro was the clear leader in getting after the QB. Development from Myles Murphy, who produced 21 more pressures and 5.5 more sacks in 2025 compared to 2024, wasn’t truly notable until after Hendrickson went down.
Hendrickson isn’t likely to come back after his injury-plagued season, and the contentious contract negotiations Tobin and Co. have previously had with the now 31-year old defensive end. His departure would only intensify the Bengals’ need for pass-rushing bodies.
“I’m for pass rush. I’m for pass rush,” Tobin reiterated. “I don’t know what the future holds for Trey. Those are discussions that we’re going to have to have ongoing. He’s one of a number of free agents that we have that we’ll have to decide how we’re going to go forward with.”
Tobin is certainly counting on Murphy and Stewart to be foundational pieces for the d-line’s quest for pressures and sacks, but he’s also making it clear external help is needed.
“Pass rush is king, and you always need to be layering in pass rusher,” Tobin said. “It can develop from within your team, and I think we’ve seen some of that start to develop from within our team, and then I think we need to find some from external sources as well.”
Translation isn’t required here. Tobin made it obvious adding pass-rushers is a priority for the Bengals. Expect it to arrive in some notable fashion in the coming months.
Cincinnati Bengals News
Duke Tobin’s frustration doesn’t mean anything if the Bengals continue to hope instead of change
Cincinnati appears to be staying the course with Duke Tobin leading its “collaborative approach.”
