Corey Dillon has strong feelings over being snubbed from the Cincinnati Bengals' Ring of Honor.
While Corey Dillon was an outstanding running back in his illustrious prime for the Cincinnati Bengals and the New England Patriots, he still harbors some animosity towards the once-woebegone AFC franchise that drafted him out of Washington over a quarter century ago.
Dillon has not played in the NFL since he was with the 2006 Patriots. If you look at what he accomplished in his career, you could certainly argue for him to have a spot in Canton, or at least the Hall of Very Good, or at minimum, the Bengals' Ring of Honor. See, therein lies the problem…
Tired of being quiet, Dillon absolutely unloaded on the Bengals in Paul Dehner Jr.'s latest for The Athletic. He spent his first seven NFL seasons in Cincinnati, playing great football personally, but never tasting postseason success. He did win a Super Bowl with the 2004 Patriots upon leaving.
Although nobody would argue for Dillon in Bengals lore over the likes of Ken Anderson, Paul Brown, Anthony Muñoz and Ken Riley, he is certainly in that next group of Bengals legends with the likes of Boomer Esiason, A.J. Green and Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson. Yeah, Dillon has some beef.
Dillon absolutely hates the fact the Bengals' Ring of Honor is voted on by the fans, not ownership.
Clearly, Bengals fans are having a hard time forgetting Dillon saying he'd rather flip burgers than sign his restricted free agency tender with Cincinnati. Then again, so much has changed for this franchise…
Former Cincinnati Bengals star Corey Dillon goes scorched earth Armageddon on his former team not having him in its Ring of Honor
On paper, Dillon is a four-time Pro Bowler and a Super Bowl champion with 11,241 rushing yards and 82 trips to pay dirt on the ground in his decade-long NFL career. If he played for a more celebrated franchise for the better part of his career, he'd probably have even better numbers and a few more accolades. It would have taken him from a borderline hall of famer into possibly a lock?
Unfortunately, where you are drafted matters. After a stellar collegiate career for his home state's Washington Huskies, Dillon was the No. 43 overall pick to the absolutely toothless Bengals in the 1997 NFL Draft. They were about a decade removed since Esiason's prime and in the midst of one of the worst runs any NFL franchise has sustained in its existence. The 1990s Bengals were awful!
No, it wasn't like they were deprived of high-quality players. Even in that day and age of Bengals football, they still had guys who could make plays and get butts out of the seats. Although the Marvin Lewis era of Bengals football is what I remember the most from my youth, Dillon did cut through. He was a sensational player on a poorly-run franchise. I can understand his frustrations.
While I don't think Dillon will ever get into Canton, because other great long-forgotten AFC running backs like Fred Taylor still aren't in, why not have him come back into good graces with The Brown/Blackburn Family? The Bengals should remain highly competitive for as long as Joe Burrow plays like a No. 1 pick. Their overall dynamic has improved, but some things still remain the same.
It is hard to shake the narrative of being cheapy, cheap, cheap, but that is what the Bengals must focus on overcoming. They have a tremendous opportunity to win over legions of fans who don't know, or even care to remember, how badly they sucked for decades. Burrow is incredibly likable, forming a very healthy rivalry with Patrick Mahomes. You have to be pulling in the same direction!
Dillon could be a Ring of Honor member in Cincinnati, but it's up to the fanbase to ever forgive him.
