It was one of those precious nights in Bengals lore when all-time passing leader Ken Anderson called tight end Bob Trumpy "Gronk before Gronk," and Ickey Woods said running back James Brooks made the iconic "Ickey Shuffle," possible, and newest Ring of Honor nominee Carlos Dunlap took pictures with alumni who played before he was born.

The gathering took place Saturday night in the CareSource Club Lounge at Paycor Stadium overlooking a sparkling Halloween Cincinnati as the Bengals prepared to induct Trumpy and Brooks into the Ring of Honor at halftime of Sunday's game against the Titans.

Bengals radio personality Wayne Box Miller MC'ed the reception as Anderson and road roommate/Bengals radio analyst Dave Lapham got up on stage to remember the Pro Bowl talent and A-list baritone of the late Trumpy. When they were summoned, Woods and maestro of the no-huddle offense Boomer Esiasion recalled how Brooks was a pivotal piece for the 1988 Super Bowl team.

"(Trumpy) was a dual threat guy," said Anderson, who drew laughs when he remembered they couldn't begin to make half-time adjustments until Trumpy and fellow tight end Bruce Coslet emerged from the shower after a smoke.

"He was also a blocker who could control the edge of the line of scrimmage. Defensive ends or linebackers. At 6-5, he could engulf guys … Early in my career, I think it was out in Denver, we split him out, and I threw a go route for about 50 yards for a touchdown, and I said, 'This guy is special.'"

"We all aspired to be Bob Trumpy," said Lapham said of the Bengals who followed him into the broadcast booth. "Trump understood the game, obviously, he played for a long time. He could describe things in a few words, and he had the great voice."

Brooks was playful as he recalled his tough demeanor toward foes and teammates alike, and kidded Woods, "I know I gave you a hard time." But it was a grand reunion of that backfield featuring the rookie 1,000-yard rusher Woods and 14 touchdowns from Brooks running and receiving.

Woods thanked Brooks for getting the ball to the opposing 5 so he could run it in and execute his dance that became a national craze.

"(Brooks) said all those things about himself, but he was never that way with me," Esiason said. "The great thing about our offense with those guys is that I could check to a run if I needed to, or if I wanted to, or if I saw a defense that gave us an opportunity for him to take it and go, and I was never hesitant to do that."

Esiason noted the recent election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame of Roger Craig, Brooks' opposite number in Super Bowl XXIII.

"He was our version of Roger Craig. Did a little bit of everything for us," Esiason said. "Probably one of the most underappreciated running backs in the history of the NFL. When he was on the field, he was a combination running back, fullback, wide receiver, and you could ask him to do anything. He would do it, and he would do it as fluidly as anybody that would be playing that position. His football IQ was off the charts."

Boomer on Kenny

Esiason continues to be an outspoken supporter of the man he backed up breaking in for the Hall. He notes Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow's NFL-leading 71.4 completion percentage and how Anderson set the merger record with 70.6 in 1981. It stood for 30 years before Drew Brees.

"Not to disparage Joe, I think it's great what Joe's doing," Esiason said. "If Kenny played today, he'd complete 85% of his passes.

"You forget the longer you're out of it, more people want to compare those stats to the players that are playing today, which is unfortunate."

And Esiason loves Burrow.

"Go back and look at your story before the (2020) draft," Esiason said. "I called it. The guy's great."

Slants and Screens

It's the third Paycor game this season, and in each one Burrow has faced a fellow overall No. 1 pick at quarterback. In a pair of rematches, he beat Baker Mayfield in the opener and lost to Trevor Lawrence on Oct. 4.  It's his first game here against Tennessee's Cam Ward and his biggest age edge on a No 1: Burrow is 29 and Ward is 24 …

Burrow is looking to up his record in overall No. 1 Paycor Games to 5-3 …

The game against the Titans marks the Bengals' first effort at dealing with the sudden year-ending losses to tight ends Erick All Jr., and Tanner Hudson. In All, they lose one of their most physical players as well as a nifty check-down option, while Burrow no longer has Hudson in their passing  game and their almost mystical connection.

Now supplementing receiver Mike Gesicki and blocker Drew Sample is two-way rookie Jack Endries, with 10 NFL scrimmage snaps and Cam Grandy, a blocker type who was cut in training camp after taking 103 snaps with the Bengals in 2024 (75) and 2025 (28) . He was signed off the Vikings practice squad last week.

"That'll certainly be a challenge," Burrow said. "Losing a guy like Erick, who brought a lot of toughness to what we do, and then losing Tanner, who plays a lot of different roles for us, really. He's so versatile and we feel so good about him in the pass game, too. Those are two huge losses for us that you can't really replace with just two guys. It's going to have to be by committee."

Endries is a seventh-rounder from Texas , and Grandy is a college free-agent who played well during the playoff sprint at the end of '24.

"He seems to have a feel for the game. All the things that we talk about in the pass game, Jack seems to see it and feel it like a quarterback does," Burrow said. "Obviously he's got a ways to go, just being a rookie and seeing all those different looks in a lot of different spots. But we feel good about where he can go, and he also brings some toughness, I think, in the run game as well." …