WhoDey All Dey!
Smart, passionate and reasonable Bengals fans have the conversation you'd have with your buddies over lunch or a beer. WHODEY for life. Please subscribe!
WhoDey All Dey!
Rookies, Skyline, Graeters, LaRosa's
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Our Reds may be ice cold, but the offseason for the Who Dey ALL Dey podcast is HOT!
Myles Murphy's 5th year option was not picked up by the Bengals front office. Bergs, Brian, and Brant discuss.
Word on the street is that Cincy will host the 2029 NFL Draft. The Fellas share their excitement.
The Bengals sign 10 rookie free agents after the Draft. The Boys talk their faves.
Finally, Rookie mini camp is this weekend. Rookies will be given taste tests of Cincy cuisine. Which ones rank #1 for the WDAD podcast.
Gentlemen, happy May 6, 2026, and welcome to the Hoodé All Day Podcast. I'm your host, Michael Berg in the Potato Land. Good old boise, Idaho. Been a long time. Beautiful. Uh, still sporting my uh Utah State polo, though, even though I'm up in the land of uh blue smurf turf. But we got our boys with us tonight, Brian Kyle, Utah County. Brian, you look great. I feel like I haven't seen you forever. How are you doing?
SPEAKER_00Doing fantastic. We were graced by the presence of none other than your host, Michael Berggs, yesterday for a little cinco day mile. Tacos were shared, so were memories. It was fantastic. So I'm in a good mode, guys.
SPEAKER_01It was great to catch up, Brant. We're sorry that you weren't there. We'll send the private jet next time. How are you doing? Northern Kentucky, how are you holding up?
SPEAKER_02Doing great, fellas. Yeah, maybe a little hurt the the jet didn't make it my way, but you know, there's always next year. Cinco de Mayo, though. I mean, I'm glad you guys had a good time. Well, when how often does Cinco de Mayo fall on Taco Tuesday, too?
SPEAKER_01So how awesome is that? It was a special day. It was a special day, especially in uh in Zion in Utah. It was uh it was a blast. You know what's not special though are those dang Cincinnati Reds. Brian was keeping an eye on the score while we were at dinner. Boy, they're uh they're down again 2-1 right now. Let's hope they uh get things going. But with that said, we do want to thank all of our listeners, those that subscribe, follow us, interact. We appreciate all the interactions on all the social media platforms. But you all know the drill. We're gonna go four downs. It may be the offseason, but like we always say, the news never stops with the Bengals. First down, the Bengals did not pick up the fifth-year option on Miles Murphy. We're gonna discuss, get your thoughts on that. Second down, 2029 looks to be targeted as Cincinnati hosting the NFL draft, the new Super Bowl of the spring. Want to get you guys' thoughts on that. Third down, signed a bunch of rookie free agents after the draft. We didn't really get a chance to talk about that, obviously, focused on the draft class. So I want to get your thoughts on those rookie free agents coming into camp this weekend. Uh, and then fourth down, this might be the most important question we ever ask. The rookies will be asked this weekend their thoughts on Cincinnati, gourmet connoisseur food, skyline, the roses, graders. We're gonna have you guys rank. But Brian, it's great to see you again. First down, kick us off. Miles Murphy, fifth year not picked up. What does that mean? What do you think?
SPEAKER_00I think it's all about it's I think it's more about money than it is about Murphy. Um, I don't think they want to already tie up I think it's like 14 million was his fifth year option. I don't think they want to tie that up. And I don't think they want to tie it to Murphy. They may feel that they might be able to edge rushers are expensive though, so I I don't know if they think they can get maybe just a less cap hit. Um, you know, his his annual salary is gonna be in that above that probably, depending on what he does this year. I don't if they're smart, this is my only concern about it, is I hope they're not planning on letting the season play out and then making a decision. Uh because if if Miles doesn't take step forwards, that doesn't and and play better. You know, if he goes from like five and a half to eight and a half, that's fantastic for us. If he goes backwards, that's not it, that's not a good thing. And so your only victory is that you didn't pay that you didn't pull the trigger on a guy that maybe isn't performing. That's that's not good. Um I just worry that it's gonna be that's my only concern is same that they're gonna take that risk. Murphy's gonna have a very good season. Uh well doing kind of dual threat defensive end, being able to play the run. And then, like I said, if he puts up about eight and a half sacks, he's in line and get paid. And so are you are you gonna step up and so I would rather pay him now. Pay him before camp start, extend him before camp starts, before the season starts at the latest. Um, save yourself some money. Hopefully they're talking about it. That's that's the biggest we kind of talked last week about what's left, and that is that might be the bit, those are the biggest things that are left is Miles Murphy, Dax Hill, DJ Turner, and and Chase Brown.
SPEAKER_01Agree with that and and the approach to it. I appreciate you walking that through for the listeners, but I am hopeful on your side, like with what you're saying, is that they're already in negotiations for long-term talks because I think you could get them at a deal right now. Uh, so we'll we'll see on that. But Brant, what's your thoughts?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I I think Brian made a lot of great points. Uh, I think I think to one be one of his first points, I think the Bengals just don't like their wiggle room for next year, right now. Uh they really just don't uh they have roughly, I think last time I looked at it, I think it was over the cap, they have roughly like 58 million in cap space for next year, which sounds like a lot, but to the Bengals, like if you subtract that 14, if you do to pick up Miles' fifty-year option, right? Now you're down into 40s, and then you got to take money off for you know the draft and rookie contracts, and then they always hold back money for uh injuries uh and picking up extra players if they need to. So you're probably looking at subtracting another 10. So you're now you're down into 30. And then guess how many we only got like 28, 20 players signed for next year. So you're looking at having to fill a major, you know, uh a lot of spots on your roster with you know, technically not a lot of money. So uh I think the other second point I would highlight, like Brian said, uh I would be interested in Miles at the right price, and but I'm not prioritizing Miles over DJ and over Dax specifically, I'm trying to get those deals done and those guys extended as soon as possible. And those are my priorities. And if my money isn't there necessarily to re-sign miles, then it is what it is. But uh those those two specifically are my priorities, and then depending on how the season plays out, then I would reevaluate Miles versus Battle versus Chase Brown, and who do I really want to sign next? Because there's only so much money, and I I'll give the Bengals a ton of credit, right? Like this is how I would wrap it up. This is what we've been asking them to do spend the money, be aggressive, go out and get studs so we can keep Burrow happy, one, but then so we can also get back to the AFC championship and then hopefully the Super Bowl. And I think finally, for the first time in a long time, Bengals fans can feel like they're going for it.
SPEAKER_01I I told you guys, uh, just being here in Idaho already just for a couple hours. One, I grabbed a bite to eat, got a hoot day. The guy said the exact same thing. He's like, Oh, I'm hearing that Burrow is gonna leave if, you know, yeah, well, I'm sure he was, if they didn't fix that defense. So I am grateful they did spend uh on that side. I do like your comment about the roster navigation. It's this combination of win now and today, which is this year and this season, but you do also have to plan for next year. And I heard another general manager on, I think it was on McAfee this week, talking about CAP and how you navigate that. And the furthest that they're looking out is about two years. And so exactly what you're talking about with the roster spot. So that would play into that. But so it'll be interesting, but I agree. I'm prioritizing in that order DJ, Dax, Miles, Chase Brown. And so, hey, if he comes at the right price, let's go. If not, I'm gonna trust this this uh this front office to do the right thing. Brandt, second down 2029. The draft was just over in uh that city that's yellow and black that we will not name. Uh, but it's sounding like the city of Cincinnati is gonna have their time to shine in 2029. What are your thoughts on this?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I I don't know how you don't hear this news and get excited as a Bengals fan one. And then even if you're just a casual Bengals fan, NFL fan, like this is such an awesome opportunity for the city. And I love that they are being aggressive themselves and going after something like this. Yes. Uh soon after we've we've kind of mentioned it on the show before, but uh finish renovating the convention center, put it giving that space a nice facelift, uh, adding more hotels downtown. There's plans to add some some major uh major hotel upgrades, which is great. Uh the plans to you know really develop the Bengals practice facility. You know, the ISOR that was the um, what was it, the cement factory or the you know, whatever it was, the asphalt factory that was right next door. Uh, that is gone now. You know, they're in the in the works of transitioning that uh and making the Bengals practice facility just top-notch. Uh so it's super exciting. The city deserves this. The the amount of uh you know the the boom to it it would be to the economy in this city, and especially like we talked about, not even Cincinnati, but just the local area too. We're talking about Covington, Newport, Bellevue. Tons of people building up the city. So I would be super excited. Everybody start planning on getting your uh hotel rooms, and uh yeah, let's keep our fingers crossed for 2029.
SPEAKER_01I love that, and you're right, a lot of a lot of positivity for the city, Brian.
SPEAKER_00No, yeah, I love it. I love the opportunity that it would bring to the to the city of Cincinnati. Uh, a chance to showcase. I you know, the NFL does it right. I hope the Bengals, when that when it does happen, sync up as well and give it a chance to to showcase the the stars on the team now and and of the past, you know, Anthony, Anthony Munoz, Kenny Anderson, uh just so many names that uh keep going. Anybody that's in the in the ring of honor already, boom, or Chris Collinsworth, they should be a big part of that part of that weekend, whether they're part of the the broadcast or not, you know, the NFL and the contr and the networks kind of control that. But here locally, those guys should be part of the scene, and the Bengals should be doing everything to put that out there and a chance to highlight the fans. Uh, we have we have the greatest fans in the NFL, uh, fans that stick with the team of the ups and downs like the Bengals. Uh, I think that's why we have a soft spot for for teams like the Lions, because they've they've been through it as well. But uh yeah, we've got great fans, and it's a great city, a beautiful set there right on the river. Just a chance to showcase to let people know that if if you haven't been, you need to come out, come see your team play, play the Bengals in in uh in Paul Brown. That's what it still is to me, and uh go home with a loss. So, but uh yeah, I mean I'm excited for it. They said uh the decision should be made here in a in about a month or so. So excited to hear.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I but listening to both of you two. Look, we're probably never gonna host a Super Bowl, which we understand. And but a lot of those warm weather teams, or if you get a new stadium or in the rotation for those Super Bowls, and you've got all these other great franchises in wonderful towns that are saying, what about us? And this really has become a Super Bowl type event in the spring. And the NFL has done it right. I forget uh they were laughing about whoever hosted it first, uh, and they had like about 75,000 people, which they thought was awesome and massive. And then here now they're up to 800,000 people. It'll be a million plus people by the time it comes to Cincinnati. And so this will be great for the city of Cincinnati. I love all the stuff that Cincinnati is doing, not just the Bengals franchise and the practice field uh and the facility there, but all the stuff for the city and for that community. I absolutely love that stuff. All right, third down. Let's nerd out, fellas. This is one of our favorites and fans. They have no idea who these guys are until all of a sudden they make a name maybe in uh training camp in a uh preseason game. Maybe they get a chance to be called up from the practice squad and all of a sudden they're making plays, make the roster, and they're like, Who is this guy? Brian, third down. Tell me right now, one of your favorite rookie free agents that we signed. After the draft is over, there's still tons of guys that are out there that are going to make up your roster for uh rookie camp, mini camp, training camp. Um, and so they bring in a handful of rookies that they sign. It's like a free agent period for rookies. Uh, so who is somebody that stands out to you that you're excited to see?
SPEAKER_00I'm ex I'm really excited to see both of the linebackers that they signed, uh, Gentry and and Dingle, the the local boy. Uh both are both are tall. Uh Dingle's 6'4, Gentry's 6'6, maybe 6'7. Uh, gentry's pretty lean. Um Dingle carries a little bit more weight, but that's where we have uh that's where we still have a need uh on the roster spot is that linebacker. And so that's why I'm excited about both of those guys, because I think they have the biggest shot to to maybe stick on on the on the 53-man roster, not just the practice squad. Uh, I I love what they signed, uh, but those two uh Brand will probably get into some other guys, those two, particularly. I'm rooting for the UC boy in Dingle, hoping he can uh he can stick with the squad, make a name for himself. But uh we'll see. It's uh these all of them have their work cut out for them. The roster got better, and it's gonna be tough. It's gonna be tough to make to make the team. So that should be their goal. And you know, with the fallback, hopefully they can stick on the practice squad. But it's all about getting good film out there, and so wishing them all the best. They all stay healthy, can get some great film on, and and if they make the team, that means they earned it and and make our team better. So, but really cheering for uh UC Kid and Dingle.
SPEAKER_01I love that because you're so right, it is a complete uphill battle because the franchise has vested a draft pick, they vested free agency dollars into players, and so but there is nothing better and more hungry than somebody that tells you, hey, you you're probably not gonna make this team, you're gonna have to work your butt off. These guys are gonna come in motivated, and especially in that linebacker room, we have some major needs from what we saw last year. So I think it's gonna get a little chippy and a little competitive, and I like that, Brant.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I'll I was actually gonna say uh Gentry, the linebacker that Brian mentioned. So I'll I'll just highlight him real quick and then uh I'll go to another player. So I think Brian will like the guy that I'm bringing up. So uh, but yeah, Eric Gentry out of USC. Uh, you'll like this, Mike. I didn't know that he started out at uh Arizona State. Yeah. As a freshman. Yep. And a freshman all-American. That's crazy. This guy's a freak in terms of your measurables. Uh almost 6'7, 228. Uh, his wingspan. Hold on, guys. I wrote this down. It's it's nuts. Uh, Addis Pro To Pro Day, 35 and three-quarter arms, 85 and 58 wingspan. I mean, he's got the wingspan of longer than most of the tackles. Crosby. So uh he put up 269 tackles throughout his career, 14 passes, defense, eight force fumbles. I think he's he offers a lot in terms of a blitz talent. I wonder if he's he's a tweener to me. And I'd I'd look at him, maybe put him in that edge slash like give you a different flavor to Cassius Howe. Like, obviously, Cassius is gonna play, but I'd put him you know on that depth chart behind Cassius Howe and uh change things up a little bit for some of those linemen and bring him on some packages. So my other guy would be the offensive tackle that we signed out of San Diego State, Christian Jones. So this guy, I I honestly was so fixated on Mark Markel Bell, I forgot about Christian Jones, but he might be bigger than maybe just a slight slightly smaller than Markel Bell. Not much. Six, eight, seven, six, eight, and seven eighths and three hundred and fifty pounds. I mean, arm length is 36 and three-quarters. Like, where do we find these guys? Uh I don't know much about him, quite honestly. Besides, the Bengals did pay him$50,000 to sign, which is unlike the Bengals. Uh, so they really wanted him. They just we just don't offer a lot of uh money when it comes to signing bonuses to undrafted free agents. So it's gonna be really interesting to see how this kid plays in the preseason and if he can stick at least on the practice squad and maybe give us some depth at that left tackle or right tackle position. Maybe be this year's PJ Jules, right?
SPEAKER_01Love that. Yeah, and can you imagine getting somebody like that that we didn't have to draft, but that is a monster that we could develop behind uh our great tackles? Absolutely love that, and love all three of those that you guys have spotlighted. I'm gonna spotlight local kid, Josh Caddis, tight end uh from Kentucky, went to Molar. His dad, Eric Caddis, uh played. I can't remember which high school he played at. Brand, do you know which high school he played at?
SPEAKER_02You know, just that football juggernaut up there on the northwest side of town.
SPEAKER_01What school is that? Well, Colora High School action. I love any time, which one it's we're way too old, but which is scary. But when we can remember guys and their kids are now in camp for the Bengals, absolutely love that kind of mojo, and think we need to look for more of that uh frequently. I think that that not only for the fans, but for bringing in alumni of past players, bringing that in. Uh, one of my favorite things about Josh, uh, Brant, you're gonna love this. In the Auburn game, he had his first ever tackle. The kids were getting ready to play special teams. Big kid, 6'4, almost 250. Super excited to see him. We need some help back to what Brian was talking about, the linebacker room. We need people to push in that tight end room. I know Drew Sample's been a solid blocker, but I really think we can upgrade with uh not only younger, more athletic, but somebody that can catch the ball and can block. So I want to see what somebody like a Josh Caddis can do locally for us. Super excited. All right, gentlemen, fourth down. Might be our best question we ever ask. Brian, get us out of here. The rookies are going to be asked. There's a tradition, the social media. I gotta I gotta give the Bengals social media some love. They do a really good job. It was a very creative group. They tie in a lot of local stuff, uh, but they always have the rookies taste test for the local Cincinnati cuisine. And I get it, if you haven't had it, you kind of don't get it. Sounds weird. We've been there, we love it. But the three big ones, and if you want to add any others, we can. But is La Rosa Skyline and Graders? The floor is yours, my friend. Rank them.
SPEAKER_00Man, that's tough to rank them. So I've got two, I've got two kind of two schools of thoughts, so I'm trying to go quick. One is I think I feel like if you live there and and have it at your at your beck and call, you have access to it all the time. I think my order would be different um than it is now. So I'm gonna because so I'm gonna go skyline number one. Because it's what it's what I miss and I don't get here, I don't get it here. The cans, the cans of skyline, are great, but they don't do it justice.
SPEAKER_01Same.
SPEAKER_00Um because part of it is is sitting in a skyline parlor and and enjoying it with your with your friends as well. So I'm gonna go skyline number one. I can't drop graders two. Far off the list. So greater is two. Because if you don't know, you then you need to know because that black raspberry chocolate chip alone will change your life, will ruin your diet, and it's worth every single bite. And then last but not least, this does not mean it's not great. Um rosa's pizza. And when it comes to the roses, what I think of more than anything is actually, I don't know if it still smells like this, because I haven't been to King's Island in years. But King's Island, especially by the beast, you can smell the La Rosa, and it has a certain specific smell of La Rosa's pizza. I didn't really get into La Rosa until man, don't my I had like moved away. And then when I would come back, then my my parents finally started like ordering La Rosa. So I I enjoy their pizza. I like it um quite a bit, but it it ranks third on that on that list for me. Absolutely love that. That is a uh that's a solid ranking brand. You got copyright there before Brant goes, I did put greater second, but just so you know, when we were in Chicago, my wife and I were in Chicago not too long ago. They don't have Skyline up there, but they have graders, especially where we were staying. Um in a four-day trip, I think, to uh to the Chicago area. We went to graders three times. Oh my gosh. We had we had been twice. We're about ready to head to the airport, and I just look at her, I'm like, one more time, and she's like, No, and I'm like, one more time. She's like, Yeah, I'll have a couple bites.
SPEAKER_02So they have a standalone graders up there in Chicago.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, they've got two. We went to the same spot each time because it was close to where we were at. I had no idea. We went, they missed our opportunity to like have us burn more money at that place because we walked in there like two kids in a candy store, just giddy as y'all get out. Like we've never had ice cream before, but uh it was fantastic. That's that's awesome. I love that, Brant.
SPEAKER_02Okay, uh, very similar to Brian. I mean, it almost to a T, but uh maybe I'm foreshadowing here. So with T, I'm gonna say uh maybe this is a little bit of a cop out, but I'm gonna call very much like we call our you know amazing wide receivers, one A and one B. I'm going 1A, Jamar Chase, Graders. Wow, one B T Higgins, Skyline, and then yeah, maybe our Yoshi is La Rosa's when he makes catches. Yeah, exactly, exactly. Maybe fumbles the ball a little bit here and there, but you know, make some solid catches when you really need it on third down. Uh okay, so graters. Here's a little tip for anybody that hasn't been, or maybe you do go and just you really focus a lot on the ice cream because how can you not? But uh first tip they just finished it. If you guys haven't had uh strawberry chocolate chip, it's my favorite. Strawberry chocolate chip comes around in April. It used to be May, they switched it up on me, but it's the flavor of April now. So I caught on to Graters scheme, so don't don't don't you know think they've got it past me because I loaded up on some pints, because it only comes around once a year, so you gotta you gotta you gotta load up. So second thing, if you guys haven't done a grater's donut, I that was gonna be what that was gonna be one of my uh special, yeah. Get to Graters, get yourself a donut. It's on another level, like it just they're blowing everybody away with their donuts, and you wouldn't think that being an ice cream, you know, focused shop, but uh donuts are unbelievable. Glazed happiness, it'll keep the kids happy. So, tip for you guys, but yeah, Skyline's my 1B. I mean, sometimes you're just in the mood for some Skyline and you gotta go get a Cholito or a three-way or a five-way, so many different options. And then the Calazone at uh La Rosa's. If I gotta go to La Rosa's, that's what I'm going with. Little Calazone action. So love the sense of food.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, we're we're for we do have the iconic foods. Uh the comments that we get from uh from random people all over the country always crack me up. Some pretty solid insights on graters. I was gonna say that about the donuts. I don't want to be blasphemous against uh Buskin because you know Buskin will always be the one seed when it comes to to donuts kettle Danish. Uh shout out to them. But I had one of their donuts one time, and I'm like, this this this is this is back to the 1A, 1B. This is in that context. Look, I apologize. I'm gonna go skyline one. I mean, Skyline is just instant Hall of Famer. I mean, you know, I mean, just anytime. And I think the fact Brian mentioned it, the fact that you can get the can and it's a tease and it's it's good, but it's not the same. It it's just it's unless you're in one of those facilities, it's just not the same. My two is gonna be La Rosa's. Jim Stewart, one of our uh loyal listeners over there in Cold Stream, is gonna be so mad because he the he says the most inappropriate text messages about what La Rosa's is. I don't know what it did, what La Rosa's did to poor Jim, but I love it. That sweet sauce, it's just a little bit different than I think than most pizzas. And I'm I'm a sucker for a good warm pizza uh and a light beer. There's it's just nothing better on that. And I'm sorry, but I want to go graters third, and not because I hate graters. I just ice cream hasn't been sitting with me for years. Not lactose. I'm clearly getting old. Their flavors are amazing. Love graters, but I just ice cream just doesn't do it for me. And that's the reason on the uh on the rankings. I will bet, though, when the rookies get a taste test, they will all go crazy for the graders. I will bet. If they have a sweet tooth, greaters is gonna knock them out of the park. Skyline could be a little like you're either gonna like it or what the heck is this? So it's super fun. But look for the rookies around town this weekend. Going to be super fun having them in, the energy, keeping things going. You guys are the best. Let's keep this going. Joe Burrow's happy, Brian's happy. I saw him in person. Brant looks happy. Let's keep this thing going. Let's keep some positive mojo going and who day all day.
SPEAKER_00Hoodé all day.