Corey Dillon rages against Bengals Ring of Honor controversy, doubles down on Hall of Fame claim - “Damn-near criminal”

Corey Dillon is statistically the best running back in Cincinnati Bengals history. He's also one of the most productive players of his generation. Despite his incredible success, he has been left without a spot in the Bengals Ring of Honor and Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The one person who seems to have a bigger problem with this decision than anyone else is Corey Dillon himself. He recently trashed the Bengals in an interview with The Athletic for failing to properly honor his career.

"I don’t pull no punches, and I’m not ducking anybody," Dillon said. "I don’t have no friends I’m trying to protect, so I can speak freely about whatever I need to speak freely about. It’s damn-near criminal, what (Bengals Ring of Honor voters) are pulling off, to be honest with you.

"Did I not play for them? I don’t know, bro. I’m curious about that. Because it looks like they are glossing over me. For what reason? Because I left? That’s not a good enough reason. You are telling me there’s five other guys better than me — at my position?

"And trust me, this is no knock on whoever is getting in, who goes in, that’s not what it is about. It’s about what is your excuse going to be? I’m pretty sure they will put f***ing (quarterback) Jon Kitna in there before they put me. Matter of fact, (quarterback) Scott Mitchell will end up in that motherf***er before I do."

When asked about not being in the Hall of Fame, Dillon said:

"I want it all. I am coming for it all. You know why? Because I earned it. I’m not one of these borderline guys sitting on my ass reminiscing, talking about, “Oh, if I had this, shoulda, coulda, woulda.” No. I’m justified.

"Why not? What it does, it breaks down to what I thought initially — which I hope it’s not true — I think they are mad at me for being vocal and going on to win a championship. That’s the only thing I can think of."

When Corey Dillon references leaving to win a championship, he did so with the New England Patriots following his Bengals career. He believes this could be the reason why the organization is leaving him out of its Ring of Honor. Whatever the reason may be, he has a strong case that he deserves to be there.

Corey Dillon is the best RB in Bengals history

Corey Dillon

Corey Dillon began his career with the Cincinnati Bengals by immediately becoming an impactful player, finishing second in Rookie of the Year voting. He rattled off an incredible six consecutive seasons with at least 1,100 rushing yards to start his career, including three consecutive years with more than 1,300.

Dillon is the all-time leading rusher in franchise history by a wide margin. He totaled 8,061 rushing yards, leading second-place James Brooks by 1,604 yards. He also leads the franchise in career rushing yards per game, ahead of stars like Cedric Benson, Joe Mixon and Rudi Johnson.

He clearly has a case to be included the Ring of Honor for the way he statistically dominates the rest of the running backs in franchise history. In the Bengals' defense, they only started their Ring of Honor two years ago in 2021. It only includes six names so far, honoring Anthony Munoz, Ken Anderson, Paul Brown, Ken Riley, Willie Anderson and Isaac Curtis.

While Corey Dillon isn't in yet, nor is Boomer Esiason or Chad Ochocino for that matter, the time could still be coming in the near future.