Ordinarily, the hiring of two scouts by an NFL team isn’t newsworthy. But there’s nothing ordinary about the Bengals hiring two scouts.
Currently, the staff directory on the team’s website reveals the presence of one scout and three “scouting consultants.” Now, Robert Livingston and Steven Radicevic have tripled the number of scouts.
The Bengals have been notoriously short-staffed in scouting, which many believe has caused the Bengals in past years to select players who were regarded as higher-round talent but who slid for other reasons, possibly for off-field reasons.
Then again, the absence of a full-blown, NFL quality scouting department hasn’t hurt the Bengals lately, with two playoff appearances in three years and a promising young team led by quarterback Andy Dalton and receiver A.J. Green.