The Cincinnati Bengals should shake their roster up, according to First Word host James Rapien, who specifically named Ryan Rehkow as the unfortunate candidate.
Rapien was not raging against the Bengals 6-foot-4, 235-pound punter, though.
“This is ‘Give Me the Keys,’ and my oh my, am I going to make a move today. You know what I would do today? I’m dead serious. I would cut Ryan Rehkow and send him to the UFFL, the XFL, the–anywhere but Cincinnati,” Rapien said on Monday’s show.
“Ryan, when you see this, I want to let you know, it’s not personal. It has nothing to do with you. It actually has nothing to do with your performance. I do not want a punter on this roster, because the fact that Zac Taylor opted to put the ball in your hands–or on your foot–on the opening drive of the game when it was fourth-and-1, when you’re around midfield, when you’re near midfield, when you have a chance to grab grab momentum here.”
Rapien continued, “Zac, you have to go for it in those situations. This is not hindsight. This was in the moment. Go for it. I said, ‘Go for it.’ They should have went for it, and that is one of the most under-the-radar moments of the loss is the mentality shift,” noting an impassioned Taylor’s postgame speech contradicted the coach’s in-game approach.
Rapien said the Jaguars “breathe a sigh of relief when you punt it” because they avoid having to face Burrow on another down.
“So Ryan, it is not personal. I don’t want Zack Taylor to be able to punt it ever on fourth-and-1. So, maybe that’s it. Maybe it’s a new thing where fourth-and-1 at your own 40 or up, you just can’t punt. Ryan Rehkow can only touch the ball if he’s a holder. Maybe there’s some new role rule that I need to put in place, and that’s what this ‘Give Me The Keys’ is.”
Zac Taylor ‘Theme’ Looms Large Over Cincinnati
Rapien argued that the passive news has been an unfortunate “theme” of Taylor’s tenure as Bengals head coach.
“He leads the league in win probability lost by kicking and go situations. He’s above 6% in that stat. No other coach is above 5.3 [percent]. There is a large gap between how conservative Zack Taylor is in these coin flip situations and every other coach in the league.
Cutting Rehkow is certainly not the answer to what ails Taylor and the Bengals.
However, Rapien’s point cannot be overlooked, given all that has transpired for the Bengals since Taylor took over, and even more since the Super Bowl in 2021-22.
The Bengals have assembled a strong collection of talent, including Burrow, but it falls on Taylor’s shoulders to maximize the roster and put players in the best position for them to succeed, and there are legitimate reasons to doubt that is consistently the case.
Up next, Taylor and the Bengals will face the winless Miami Dolphins.
It is a road matchup, but one that Taylor, Burrow, and the Bengals should win handily, even if they have to use Rehkow to Rapien’s chagrin.
Bengals Urged to ‘Cut’ 6-Foot-4, 235-Pound Vet After Frustrating Decision