Dexter Lawrence deal proves Bengals are finally serious | Opinion

I owe Duke Tobin an apology. Not a soft or hedged one. A real one.

All offseason, the Bengals ’ director of player personnel kept saying the team was "all in. " I didn’t buy it. I’ve been a Bengals fan too long to take that phrase at face value.

Around here, "all in" has often meant just aggressive enough to stay respectable. To their credit, the Bengals started fast. Signing Boye Mafe and Bryan Cook addressed real needs on a defense that, frankly, embarrassed itself at times last season.

But then the noise died down. No splash. No statement.