Jason McCourty Praises Bengals’ Dexter Lawrence Trade, Explains Locker Room Impact

ESPN’s Jason McCourty went on the Bengals Booth podcast, hosted by Cincinnati Bengals play-by-play commentator Dan Hoard, to break down why he believes the Bengals will be a true contender in 2026.

Hoard asked McCourty about Joe Burrow’s recent comments comparing the Bengals to the 2019 LSU team, saying the vibes around the team feel similar. McCourty said Burrow, in that moment, did a great job of indirectly setting the bar very high for his teammates. Burrow comparing this year’s team to one of the best college football teams of all time will force every player on the roster to look themselves in the mirror and decide whether they have prepared to that level.

“Joe Burrow is one of the very best players in our league… Hearing him that fired up about this team goes a long way," McCourty said.

McCourty also discussed Cincinnati’s decision to trade the No. 10 pick in the NFL draft to the New York Giants for defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, saying he was caught off guard because of Cincinnati’s tendency to be conservative with the moves it makes. He also shared an interesting story comparing himself to Lawrence, a veteran who hasn’t had much team success, joining a roster with high expectations.

After McCourty was traded to the New England Patriots from the Cleveland Browns, Bill Belichick met with him and told him his perspective would be huge for the locker room because so many Patriots players had assumed they would be successful because it was in the organization’s nature. Lawrence is in a similar position as a player who couldn’t find much team success with the Giants but established himself as one of the premier defensive tackles in the league. That perspective has been recognized in how he has impacted the locker room so far.

Moves like adding Lawrence have shifted the pressure from the front office to the players on the roster, according to McCourty, who is taking a similar angle to that of Andrew Whitworth, who witnessed firsthand the Bengals’ reluctance to build championship-level teams around franchise quarterbacks. However, McCourty said the pressure shouldn’t be on the defense, as he doesn’t think it needs to be a top unit in the NFL for the Bengals to be a contender.

If they can create takeaways and get the ball in the hands of Joe Burrow, that should be a formula for a lot of wins in 2026. The former cornerback also mentioned DJ Turner and Dax Hill, saying they are a true one-two punch at corner and that it isn’t a situation where one cornerback consistently draws the tougher matchup while the other benefits from lesser assignments, as some other teams have to deal with.

“I don’t see them continuing to be a team that misses the playoffs.”