After watching their starting defensive tackles limp off the field in Kansas City last Sunday and their two prized rookie defensive tackles looking for their first NFL snaps while nursing injuries, the Bengals went out and got a guy.
But not just a guy.
They went out and got Lawrence Guy, an all-decade New England Patriot, a Super Bowl champion, a Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year nominee and a guy who feels at home here despite 14 seasons in the NFL.
"The Black and Blue Conference. You've got to love this conference," said Guy of the AFC North Wednesday after his first Bengals walkthrough. "This conference made me what I am. I always wanted to get another opportunity to come back here and all I heard was great things about the organization. I knew this would be a good fit."
Former Bengals defensive tackle and friend Mike Daniels assured Guy it would be a good fit, and, given the Bengals are facing a Washington team Monday night (8:15-Cincinnati's Channel 9) that is looking to run the ball for rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, the Bengals felt the 6-4, 315-pound Guy was such a good fit that they signed him off the street after Tuesday's workout.
"I don't like the cold weather. The cold weather loves me. Who knows (why)?" Guy said. "When you're a run-stopper, the cold weather loves you. So you embrace the cold weather."
Monday night won't be cold, but that's the sentiment the Bengals seek as they wait to see who is available up front. Guy most likely won't be playing the 36 snaps he played in Super Bowl LIII when the Patriots held the Rams to three points and 62 rushing yards to win it all six years ago.
But maybe he can play the 10 snaps he worked in the 2014 AFC North classic Wild Card Game when his Ravens beat the Steelers, 30-17.
"We'll find out. We'll find out," said Guy when asked if he can go against the Commanders and for how long if he can. "I might not have been in a training camp, but that didn't mean I did train like I wasn't in a camp. Two or three hours five days a week. When you get the call, you want to be prepared. If you get the call, you want to be prepared so I don't let down the people who gave me the call."
Guy, 34, is now the Bengals' oldest defender since 36-year-old cornerback Terence Newman played in another 2014 AFC Wild Card Game (he's got a few months on cornerback Adam Jones). He has decided to keep playing after several talks with wife Andrea at their Davie, Florida home.
"Once you stop putting on the pads, that's it. You never play the game again. It's not like basketball where you can play pickup games," Guy said. "It had to be the right situation, and this is the right situation. Look at the dynamics of the organization. How the players play. You can see it this year with the dedication they're putting into it. When I played the Bengals in the past, you knew it was going to be a hard-fought game and you had to bring everything."
There's another reason Guy kept playing. The youngest of his four children just turned one, and he'd like to have him be able to remember his dad playing in the NFL. He thinks his two oldest, seven and five, can.
"They've grown up in it," Guy said.
They'll certainly remember packing his bag for his first trip to Cincinnati.
"So ironic. I got the call Monday and had to go quick. And that's the day my wife's car broke down," Guy said. "My kids packed my bag. I was able to get in here Monday night."
He played 110 of his 177 NFL games during seven seasons with the Patriots after head coach Bill Belichick coveted his play against them during his 43-game career with the Ravens. Guy got let go from the Patriots a few weeks after Belichick earlier this year. But no hard feelings.
"I cherished my time there," Guy said.
They did, too. A few months after his club cut him, Patriots owner Rober Kraft cut a $20,000 check for the Lawrence Guy Family Foundation that brought so much to New England's disadvantaged families with a focus the last three years on single mothers.
One of his last Patriotic acts back in January became one of the most memorable. Lawrence and Andrea hosted 16 families impacted by the Lewiston, Maine mass shooting for player autographs and a tour of Gillette Stadium.
The manager of the Schemengees Bar and Grill was killed that night, and his daughter received a surprise $5,000 gift from the Guys.
"Every year we focus on being more impactful and when this happened our hearts were broken and torn about the families and we got the idea to make these families feel special that have been affected by this tragedy, " Andrea Guy said at the event.
Her husband is not surprised at the role an old Patriot teammate has embraced with the Bengals, 2023 Walter Payton nominee Ted Karras.
"Teddy's got the kind of personality that has made him a leader everywhere he's been," Guy said.
Guy can be that guy, but right now he's just trying to get on the same page with Bengals defensive line coach Marion Hobby. Hobby isn't concerned.
"I've watched him for a long time. That's why he's here. He's played a lot of football," Hobby said.
How much? He was a teammate of old friend Vontaze Burfict at Arizona State.
Since Wednesday was a short day, Hobby told Guy if he wanted, he could come into the D-Line room Thursday, and they'd go over any questions he had. But this is why Guy has played a long time. He went into Hobby's room for about a half-hour Wednesday and was the last guy out of the locker room after eating lunch.
"So many legends have come through this locker room. You embraced what you saw," Guy said. "Tez was here. I got to watch people here. Old teammates. It was always a rough game. Bengals-Steelers is always going to be hard-fought, smashmouth."
They don't play until December. The Ravens aren't here for three more weeks. But the new guy brings the sentiment Monday night for an NFC game.
"I love the AFC North," Guy said.
