The Cincinnati Bengals: Where Troubled Dallas Cowboys Go to Die

Cincinnati, Ohio: Birthplace of Drew Lachey from the late-1990s musical sensation 98 Degrees, and where troubled Dallas Cowboys go to die.

Or at least fade into oblivion.

Think about it.

Where did Tank Johnson land after his illustrious 24-game stint in Dallas in which he recorded a legendary 22 tackles and three sacks?

What about the famous “Roy Williams Rule” Roy Williams, who earned notoriety for essentially having the horse-collar tackle rule named after him and his dangerous take downs?

Lest we forget about receiver Antonio Bryant, too. He picked the wrong man to exchange heated words with in Bill Parcells, resulting in his departure from Dallas through trade to where else, but Cincinnati—home of the Bengals.

He was even failing drug tests without even being under contract with any NFL team at one point.

And now here we are, with perhaps the most mercurial of them all, Adam “Pacman” Jones, a Cincinnati Bengal.

Throw in former defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer and the Bengals are employing ex-Dallas problem-children in all aspects of the game.

While only one incident of Pacman’s many well-documented legal altercations happened while under contract with the Cowboys, his year with the team is one that Jerry Jones would undoubtedly like to be dismissed from the memories of Cowboys fans.

Unfortunately, the bizarre nature of the former West Virginia star is not so easily forgettable.

While he may not be the only NFL player who “like-ed the strip club”, he certainly is one of the only ones who seemed to be involved in every shooting that occurs at them.

His legal troubles, combined with his TNA Wrestling Tag Team title-reign with a Mr. Ron Killings leave Pacman etched in the minds of not only Dallas but the entire nation.

The beauty of all this?

They aren’t Dallas’ problems anymore.

There is just something about Cincinnati that draws in troubled NFL players and for some reason a lot of them seem to be gravitating there from Dallas.

Is this a coincidence?

It is entirely possible, yes, but it could also mean that Jerry Jones might be irresponsibly taking these players in regardless of their sheriff’s department records.

 Then he figuratively “passes them off” to Bengals president and owner Mike Brown, who appears to be equally as tolerant, maybe even more so.

Heck, Mike Brown even has a whole section on his Wikipedia page dedicated to his “Tolerance of off field conduct”.

Over the past several years, the list of Bengals with a negative history has steadily grown, with no end in sight.

Frankly, it is surprising that Terrell Owens did not end up in Cincy after his tenure in Dallas.

And this trend might be far from over.

Jerry is at it again with the drafting of Dez Bryant, who very well could be a future Bengal as more and more scandalous information is leaked about the young receiver.

It is too early to tell for Bryant, but the controversy surrounding him prior to and following the draft has already been a distraction for the team—not something that a player trying to clear his name is looking to do as he enters a league that becomes stricter every year.

At some point, this trend of Dallas’ problems finding their way to Cincinnati will cease to exist.

But the end is nowhere in sight as long as these two powerful men are still in charge, employing whoever they think will help them win while looking the other way.

As the expression goes, Jerry Jones and Mike Brown are just two peas in a luxury suite pod.