After a fairly long period of being one of the NFL’s relatively White friendliest teams, the Bengals have strongly headed in the wrong direction, a move that Caste Football has traced for the past two years, the results of which are obvious in 2026.
In 2025 Cincy had 7 White starters and 17 on the 53. In ’24 it was 8 and 20; in ’23 it was 8 and 18. There were no write-ups in ’19, ’20, ’21 and ’22, but going back to 2018 it was 8 and 19, in 2017 it was 7 and 18; and in 2016 it was 7 and 23. And after compiling won-loss records of 12-4 in 2022, and 9-8 in both '23 and '24, the Bengals fell off to 6-11 last year as the obvious demographic changes were taking place.
This year it’s a much different looking team with 5 White starters and just 14 overall on the 53 man roster to start 2026.
After QB Joe Burrow, one of the very best in the league, for several years the Bengals started three excellent White players on defense – ends Sam Hubbard and Trey Hendrickson, and MLB Logan Wilson. They also had WR Charlie Jones, drafting him in the fourth round in 2023 after a great season at Purdue. All four are now gone.
Hubbard unexpectedly retired. Hendrickson was one of those rare White players who stuck to his guns regarding what he believed he should be paid and eventually gave up and signed with Baltimore during the offseason.
Wilson was one of the top linebackers in the league, a peerless combination of tackling machine and takeaway machine. However, his stats fell dramatically at the beginning of 2025 and he began to lose playing time, eventually being cut and signing with Dallas mid-season only to retire at the end of the year. Whether his dropoff in production led to his reduced playing time or vice versa isn’t certain, all we know is that he wasn’t the same player last year and now in what should be his prime he’s out of the league.
Jones was recently waived, following the cutting of Trenton Irwin last year. Jones was nicked up quite a bit and was a very good kick returner but never had a genuine opportunity to nail down the third receiver spot. Instead Zac Taylor insists once again on starting Andrei Iosivas, who is too spindly to block effectively and has yet to surpass 36 catches or 479 yards in his three seasons in the NFL despite having Joe Burrow as his starting quarterback.
After Burrow there’s very little to cheer about. The inside of the o-line is White, while Drew Sample is listed as the starting tight end, with Mike Gesicki the backup while Jack Endries is a distant fourth on the depth chart at the position.
The starting defense is now entirely black, with Swaze Bozeman the last White man holding down the fort as a backup middle backer. Bozeman is quite talented and the Bengals have one of the worst starting linebacker groups in the league, so maybe he’ll play more as the season goes along. But then again these are the “new look” Bengals.
The Bengals have regressed back to their historic position as being one of the blacker teams in the league, one that for many years ritually signed the worst black criminal and prima donna types after they had worn out their welcome elsewhere. Personally I can’t get too invested in cheering for Drew Sample and the underachieving Gesicki so my main interest will be hoping that Burrow stays healthy and has another outstanding season.
QB: Joe Burrow, backed up by the ageless and still very effective Joe Flacco
LG: Dylan Fairchild, Jacob Bayer
C: Ted Karras, Lew Connor
RG: Dalton Risner
TE: Drew Sample, Mike Gesicki, Jack Endries
MLB: Swaze Bozeman
PK: Evan McPherson
P: Ryan Rehkow
LS: William Wagner
Practice Squad: The only three overachievers currently on it are QB Sean Clifford, OT Blake Freeland, and TE Tanner Hudson, who has flashed when given playing time.
IR: Guard Brian Parker
Number of White Starters: 5
Number of Whites on the 53: 14
Grade: F
In 2025 Cincy had 7 White starters and 17 on the 53. In ’24 it was 8 and 20; in ’23 it was 8 and 18. There were no write-ups in ’19, ’20, ’21 and ’22, but going back to 2018 it was 8 and 19, in 2017 it was 7 and 18; and in 2016 it was 7 and 23. And after compiling won-loss records of 12-4 in 2022, and 9-8 in both '23 and '24, the Bengals fell off to 6-11 last year as the obvious demographic changes were taking place.
This year it’s a much different looking team with 5 White starters and just 14 overall on the 53 man roster to start 2026.
After QB Joe Burrow, one of the very best in the league, for several years the Bengals started three excellent White players on defense – ends Sam Hubbard and Trey Hendrickson, and MLB Logan Wilson. They also had WR Charlie Jones, drafting him in the fourth round in 2023 after a great season at Purdue. All four are now gone.
Hubbard unexpectedly retired. Hendrickson was one of those rare White players who stuck to his guns regarding what he believed he should be paid and eventually gave up and signed with Baltimore during the offseason.
Wilson was one of the top linebackers in the league, a peerless combination of tackling machine and takeaway machine. However, his stats fell dramatically at the beginning of 2025 and he began to lose playing time, eventually being cut and signing with Dallas mid-season only to retire at the end of the year. Whether his dropoff in production led to his reduced playing time or vice versa isn’t certain, all we know is that he wasn’t the same player last year and now in what should be his prime he’s out of the league.
Jones was recently waived, following the cutting of Trenton Irwin last year. Jones was nicked up quite a bit and was a very good kick returner but never had a genuine opportunity to nail down the third receiver spot. Instead Zac Taylor insists once again on starting Andrei Iosivas, who is too spindly to block effectively and has yet to surpass 36 catches or 479 yards in his three seasons in the NFL despite having Joe Burrow as his starting quarterback.
After Burrow there’s very little to cheer about. The inside of the o-line is White, while Drew Sample is listed as the starting tight end, with Mike Gesicki the backup while Jack Endries is a distant fourth on the depth chart at the position.
The starting defense is now entirely black, with Swaze Bozeman the last White man holding down the fort as a backup middle backer. Bozeman is quite talented and the Bengals have one of the worst starting linebacker groups in the league, so maybe he’ll play more as the season goes along. But then again these are the “new look” Bengals.
The Bengals have regressed back to their historic position as being one of the blacker teams in the league, one that for many years ritually signed the worst black criminal and prima donna types after they had worn out their welcome elsewhere. Personally I can’t get too invested in cheering for Drew Sample and the underachieving Gesicki so my main interest will be hoping that Burrow stays healthy and has another outstanding season.
QB: Joe Burrow, backed up by the ageless and still very effective Joe Flacco
LG: Dylan Fairchild, Jacob Bayer
C: Ted Karras, Lew Connor
RG: Dalton Risner
TE: Drew Sample, Mike Gesicki, Jack Endries
MLB: Swaze Bozeman
PK: Evan McPherson
P: Ryan Rehkow
LS: William Wagner
Practice Squad: The only three overachievers currently on it are QB Sean Clifford, OT Blake Freeland, and TE Tanner Hudson, who has flashed when given playing time.
IR: Guard Brian Parker
Number of White Starters: 5
Number of Whites on the 53: 14
Grade: F
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