The Cincinnati Bengals locker room was not much different than many bars, barber shops and business offices Thursday as the topic of conversation centered on the end of the NFL referee lockout, and the relief that comes along with it.

“We heard they’re back, and we’re super excited about that,” defensive tackle Domata Peko said of the regular referees, who were scheduled to make their debut Thursday night in the Cleveland-Baltimore game.

“I can’t wait to see those guys Sunday,” Bengals cornerback Adam Jones added. “I respect what they were going through. We went through the same thing. I’m just happy it got to a point where they finally decided, let’s get this done. It’s a good thing for the whole National Football League.”

The replacement officials were responsible for dozens of questionable calls and incorrectly administered penalties through the first three weeks, but the turning point in the standoff between the league and the officials union came Monday night on the final play of the Green Bay-Seattle game, when Seahawks receiver Golden Tate was awarded a game-winning touchdown on what appeared to be an interception by the Packers’ M.D. Jennings.

The touchdown call — and the statement the NFL issued the next day supporting the decision to not overturn it after replay review — drew the ire of players, fans and media across the country and injected a renewed urgency into the negotiations.

A labor agreement through 2018 was reached Wednesday night, and Thursday afternoon in a conference call with reporters, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell apologized to the fans.

“We’re sorry to have to put fans through that,” he said. “Obviously when you go through something like this, it’s painful for everybody. Most importantly, it’s painful for fans. Sometimes you have to go through something like that in the short term for the right agreement for the long term.”

Also on the call, Goodell said the replacement referees did not jeopardize the safety and welfare of the players. But Bengals tackle Andrew Whitworth disagreed with that, pointing specifically to the hit Packers receiver Greg Jennings took from the Seahawks’ Brandon Browner earlier in the Monday night game.

Browner was not penalized on the play.

“That was just insane, hitting him way late, end of the play, then getting on top of him in the end zone and burying him into the ground,” Whitworth said. “That was my biggest concern, the control of the games. If anyone watched the Baltimore-New England game (Sunday night), you could see fighting and tussling and pushing and shoving after every snap. You start realizing that man, this is going to get out of hand. There’s going to be a huge fight. There’s going to be guys getting injured just trying to defend themselves.

“I’m excited it’s behind us,” Whitworth continued. “People can stop worrying about that, and we can play football and enjoy the game.”