It was a challenging season on the field for the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals entered the season fully expecting to challenge the Kansas City Chiefs for AFC supremacy and to have a real shot at winning the franchise’s first-ever Super Bowl.
Unfortunately, despite a career year that saw star quarterback Joe Burrow play at an MVP-caliber level, the Bengals missed out on the playoffs entirely, as their five-game winning streak to end the season wasn’t enough to make up for the slow start out of the gates.
As if the on-field disappointments weren’t enough, Cincinnati fans recently got some devastating news on the state of the franchise.
The Bengals lease with Paycor Stadium, where the team plays its home games, is rapidly approaching its expiration, and according to Pro Football Talk, negotiations to get it renewed aren’t going well.
“Tumult” exists between the negotiating parties that “raises the obvious question about whether the Bengals have a decades-long future in Cincinnati.” Cincinnati pulled all its offers off the table in July, and although talks have recently resumed, “tensions remain.”
If the two sides can’t come to a deal, there’s nothing for the Bengals to do other than pack up and leave town. Fans reacted to the news on social media.
“Move them, too many teams already in that region,” one fan wrote on Twitter.
“Move them to Columbus,” one fan suggested.
“Welcome to San Diego,” wrote another, while someone else posted: “San Diego Bengals.”
It’ll be interesting to see how the saga plays out.
