'A new narrative.' Why the Bengals are confident in their linebackers

See the food coming to Paycor Stadium for Bengals season

Eventually, all the platitudes and happy that color the NFL's preseason give way to reality and hard truths. That's where the Cincinnati Bengals are with their linebackers.

By now, you've probably heard some version of the preseason patter around the Bengals defense − that it's improved, that there are waves of rushers, it has more talent, more depth and players better-suited for leadership roles compared to the defense of a year ago.

To Cincinnati's credit, the front office spared little expense during the offseason in order to upgrade its defensive personnel. The publicly available sample size is small, and the defense might still have some holes based on the joint practice against the Chicago Bears . Many experts still anticipate these talking points will bear out once the 2026 season kicks off Sept. 13 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers .

But the one outstanding question looming over the defense is the linebacker position, where the Bengals aren't buoyed by a big-name veteran or a major free-agent upgrade. That makes it an outlier on the roster and a great unknown as two second-year players in Barrett Carter and Demetrius Knight Jr. are being entrusted with starting roles.

From Director of Player Personnel Duke Tobin to head coach Zac Taylor and defensive coordinator Al Golden, the decision to stand behind Carter and Knight as starters has been explained and rationalized, but that talk can only carry the organization through to the 1 p.m. kickoff Sept. 13 at Paycor Stadium. That's when the season begins and when the truth about the team's linebacking duo will be revealed.

Whether or not they can produce better results than they did during their rookie season in 2025 could dictate how high the ceiling is for a team that speaks openly about chasing a championship.

"Really excited about both of them. They're in the upper echelon of all rep-getters (in training camp), and they needed that," Golden said. "I've said it to you guys multiple times: I think they are playing with confidence. They're able to run it at the line of scrimmage, whether it's stunt adjustments, checks, whatever the case may be. They've done a really good job, and I'm just excited to watch them go play, just go have fun and play with energy and let it loose."

Golden speaks of his confidence in Carter and Knight. Carter and Knight project confidence, too. The two players are drawing on the experience of their baptism-by-fire 2025 campaigns, plus this past offseason and training camp.

In the modern NFL, the preseason doesn't necessarily mean ample opportunities for projected starters, especially in preseason games.

"If you're worried about preseason games, that's not totally fair," Knight said. "If people are watching preseason games — full-speed action is Day 1 of OTAs, Day 1 of training camp. Our offense isn't just running plays for us to make stops. They're scheming us. We're scheming them. We're sharpening iron week after week after week. … I believe it was great work. It felt like game situations, pretty much.

"This whole camp and OTAs has been game-like situations. We're banging left and right. Fights here, left and right. You're not gonna fight if you're not truly getting reps, so I would say camp and OTAs got us ready."

Carter and Knight have also kept the 2025 season in mind, even while that's a painful exercise at times. Carter said he hated to still call upon that experience in explaining his present-day rationale.

The two players ended up as companion pieces in the story of the 2025 Bengals. Their play, and the decision to draft both of them in the 2025 NFL Draft, became a case study for critics as they analyzed the organization's personnel decision-makers.

Carter contended the 2025 season spurred growth in both players by the time they were back at Paycor Stadium in the spring for organized team activities (OTAs). Like the 2025 season itself, the journey through OTAs, periodic offseason downtime and training camp was one they made in lockstep.

It's still just preseason talk, but Carter said he and Knight were confident the team's faith in them would be rewarded.

"We've been through the fire. We've seen the worst of the worst, and we know what the bottom feels like," Carter said. "When you know what the bottom feels like, the only way to go is up. We went to work in the offseason. We made sure that we're gonna write a new narrative. We have ultimate control over it. And we're gonna do what needs to be done. … When you go through adversity, there's nothing that shapes a true man like going through adversity.