Jul. 22—Former Cincinnati Bengals tight end Bob Trumpy and running back James Brooks will be going into the organization’s Ring of Honor this year.
The Bengals announced Wednesday, July 22 that Trumpy and Brooks were selected as the 2026 Ring of Honor inductees, based on a vote by season ticket holders from a ballot featuring 12 individuals who have played a significant role in the franchise’s history and tradition.
Trumpy, who played for the Bengals from 1968 through 1977, and Brooks (1984-91) will join Ken Anderson, Willie Anderson, Paul Brown, Isaac Curtis, Corey Dillon, Boomer Esiason, Chad Johnson, Dave Lapham, Tim Krumrie, Anthony Muñoz, Lemar Parrish and Ken Riley in the Bengals Ring of Honor.
The induction ceremony will take place during halftime of the game against the Tennessee Titans on Nov. 1.
Trumpy was a 12th-round draft pick of the Bengals in their inaugural 1968 season and notably scored the team’s first-ever receiving touchdown. He went on to play in 128 games with 120 starts over the next 10 seasons and set the standard for future players at his position. Among all tight ends in team history, he has the most receiving yards (4,600), receiving touchdowns (35), yards per reception (15.4) and Pro Bowl selections (four).
“In my opinion, during his time, Bob was the best receiving tight end in the league,” Bengals President Mike Brown said in a press release. “He was a top-level player. He had a long stride. He had good hands. Because the safeties couldn’t stay with him, he became a productive downfield threat for us. He had something that drove him to be good, and he became a great player.”
Brooks remains the franchise’s career record holder for average yards per carry (4.8; minimum 500 attempts), while ranking second in team history in rushing yards (6,447) and tied for fifth in rushing touchdowns (37) in his eight seasons. A versatile and complete running back, Brooks also contributed 3,012 career receiving yards to give him 9,459 yards from scrimmage, which is the fourth-most in Bengals history. He also holds three of the team’s top 10 highest scrimmage yardage totals in a season, highlighted by a franchise-record 1,773 yards in 1986.
“James was one of the toughest players we ever had,” Brown said in the press release. “He was a good runner, and not only was he a good catch out of the backfield, he knew how to get yards after he made the catch. And he was quick. Extremely hard to cover on the goal line. But the thing the numbers don’t say that needs being said is he was an exceptional pass protector. It’s good he’s recognized. He deserves it.”
