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Cincinnati Bengals safety Jordan Battle (27) intercepts a pass deflected off of Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers (4) as Cincinnati Bengals cornerback DJ Turner II (20) looks on in the second quarter of the NFL football game at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati on Dec.
14, 2025.
| Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images It wont be long until the Cincinnati Bengals are back on a football field playing actual games.
Until then, its time to take a look at what the biggest concerns are for this team entering the 2026 NFL season.
Matt Okada of NFL.com recently wrote an article outlining the biggest remaining questions for all 32 teams in the NFL.
Surprisingly for the Bengals, he did not list linebacker as the teams biggest issue.
Instead, Okada listed strong safety as the biggest remaining roster issue.
Yes, the Bengals signed Bryan Cook to replace Geno Stone at free safety, a crucial improvement for a defense prone to big-play obliteration.
Jordan Battle remains their top strong safety after a rough 2025 campaign.
And adding Kyle Dugger in free agency is more likely to supply viable depth than solve starter problems.
Cincy was historically bad against tight ends last year and has been a bottom-eight total defense three years running.
The Bengals need to fix this issue and fast to seriously contend in the AFC.
While Battle will need to clean up the missed tackles from last season, he still put together a career-high four interceptions on the back end of the defense.
With Bryan Cook back there to solidify the back end of the defense with him, I think Battle will have even more freedom to get up near the line of scrimmage and make impact plays for this defense.
Battle is also just 25 years old and should just now be entering the prime of his career.
There will be no excuses for him with the addition of Cook, and the rest of the talent they added to the defense this season.
Jordan Battle should benefit from the addition of Bryan Cook at safety this season.
pic.twitter.com/s85hHVpHav Bengals & Brews (@BengalsBrews) July 19, 2026 I would argue there are two bigger question marks entering the 2026 season: Nickel corner and the overall linebacker position.
The nickel corner spot is likely to be one of Jalen Davis, JaSir Taylor, or Bralyn Lux to start the 2026 season.
Davis played well toward the end of the 2026 season, but it is still a question if he can hold up consistently in coverage.
Could the Bengals show interest in veteran Kenny Moore at the position still? Jalen Davis is the current favorite to start at nickel corner.
He will have competition from JaSir Taylor and Bralyn Lux when training camp gets underway next week.
pic.twitter.com/0YX0I9QRjN Bengals & Brews (@BengalsBrews) July 21, 2026 At linebacker, the Bengals have put all of their faith in second-year players Demetrius Knight Jr.
and Barrett Carter to take a tremendous step forward from the 2025 season.
While they added defensive line talent that should make the job easier for the young linebackers, we still need to see it when the regular season gets underway.
A veteran addition like Bobby Wagner would sure make me feel a lot better about the depth of that unit heading into the season.
How big of a jump do you expect year two Barrett Carter to make? I have my reservations, but the defensive line will give him every opportunity to become a playmaker.
pic.twitter.com/YMfABE49zZ Bengals & Brews (@BengalsBrews) July 18, 2026.