Every single team in the AFC North drafted a quarterback in 2018. Two of them drafted a quarterback in the first round that they fully intend to be the future of their franchise. Another was able to get one in the third round that they believe may be able to be that as well.
And then there are the Cincinnati Bengals, regarding whom there is reason to believe that they wanted that aforementioned third-round quarterback, but had to settle for taking one later in the draft. And he was just arrested.
The Bengals were looking to upgrade the depth of the quarterback position after they lost out on backup A.J. McCarron this offseason, in spite of the fact that they agreed to trade him away last season before the trade fell through due to an error by the Cleveland Browns. They signed Matt Barkley in free agency.
They were reportedly interested in drafting Mason Rudolph when the Oklahoma State quarterback slid to the third round, and the Pittsburgh Steelers obviously believed this because they moved up three spots in the draft—the two in between both owned by the Bengals—to take him.
Whether or not they planned to nab Rudolph, they did come away with Logan Woodside in the seventh round to add to their quarterback depth chart. But he was arrested last week back in Kentucky at nearly four in the morning for speeding and operating a vehicle under the influence.
The rookie talked about the arrest yesterday, speaking to a local paper. “It was obviously embarrassing for the situation I was in”, he said. “I’m over it now, and I’m going to discipline myself the way I need to be and I’m going to learn from it”.
Woodside reportedly was cited for exceeding the speed limit by 10 miles and for having a blood alcohol level of .112. The legal limit in Kentucky is .08. In spite of the arrest, he was a full participant for the Bengals during their minicamp this past week.
Now, he is just looking to put his admittedly very recent past behind him and continue to forge ahead with his football career, though he will now have several weeks off before he will have to return for the Bengals’ training camp.
He expressed gratefulness toward the organization for not making a rapid decision following his arrest to release him. “I think Coach Lewis really cares about me”, he said. “He cares about all the players. And now I’m going to do everything I can to show him I want to be on this team”.
Cincinnati is not a team that necessarily insists on carrying three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster, so he will definitely have to earn his spot on the team this summer. He could also, of course, be kept on the practice squad, assuming he were to clear waivers should he be released.
