The current Cincinnati Bengals are enjoying immense success under head coach Zac Taylor and superstar quarterback Joe Burrow.
Two seasons, two AFC Championship Games and one Super Bowl appearance has put the Bengals on the map as a consistent threat for the first time since late 1980s when Boomer Esiason and Icky Woods led the franchise to the doorstep of a Lombardi Trophy, losing in the final seconds to the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl 23.
After that came some lean years, but in the midst of those years, the Bengals stumbled upon a generational running back in Corey Dillon. The imposing, athletic Dillon become the franchise’s all-time leading rusher with 8,061 yards and 1,865 carries during his seven-year tenure in Cincinnati. But for some reason Dillon, who retired in 2006, still hasn’t had his name and number put into the Bengals’ “Ring of Honor.”
In a recent interview published by The Athletic, Dillon voiced his displeasure for the process and how he’s been shunned.
Dillon Calls Out Selection Process
The Bengals, unlike most teams, allow their season ticket holders and suite holders to vote, and that seems to be what’s keeping Dillon out. Dillon had this to say in the interview.
“This isn’t a popularity contest,” Dillon told the outlet. “This is football you are going to put in somebody who’s is more popular than somebody who’s got stats?
“Bengals are smart. I give it to them. We will put it in hands of the season ticket holders, so they don’t have to take that backlash over who the voters are picking. That’s bull—. The sh—should come straight from the team. Half these season ticket holder people never seen half of us play.”
Dillon, a second-round pick out of Washington in 1997, made three Pro Bowls and rushed for at least 1000 yards in six of his seven seasons in Cincy.
Things Between Dillon And Bengals Ended Ugly
After years of running wild, including a 278-yard masterpiece in 2000, which at the time was the most rushing yards in a single game in NFL history, the relationship between Dillon and the Bengals began to fall apart.
Dillon was dealt to New England Patriots in 2004, ending an at-best tenuous relationship with the team. He’d help the Patriots win the Super Bowl in his first year in Foxborough. Dillon also says his being traded shouldn’t affect his being chosen for something he’s earned.
The outspoken tailback called his exclusion “damn near criminal.”
Despite speaking out, Dillon says he still doesn’t expect things to change.
“I’m pretty sure they will put f—ing Jon Kitna in there before they put me. Matter of fact, Scott Mitchell will end up in that m—f—er before I do.”
