The Bengals Should Rewrite History And Be Trade Deadline Buyers
Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
The trade deadline is that magical time of year where other teams construct Tee Higgins-related clickbait, which is all for naught.
ESPN suggests the #Commanders as a potential trade destination for WR Tee Higgins at the trade deadline pic.twitter.com/W7DEWm2Z7w
— brandon (@JayDanielsMVP) October 12, 2024
These headlines merely exist because Tee Higgins has been a trade candidate for approximately the last 87 seasons. The Bengals have turned every team down every step of the way, and as a result, media-driven narratives of an impending trade for Higgins, or merely any trade at all, are finally starting to dissipate.
”The Bengals aren’t on my bingo card for a splash move at the deadline,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler wrote. “The offense is stabilized, the offensive line is capable and the defense appears to have what it needs. Teams have had interest in Tee Higgins, but with Cincy still a playoff contender, shipping him out is questionable — especially with his free agency contract destined to net the Bengals a decent mid-round compensatory pick.”
Trading Higgins would mean the Bengals would not only lose their ultra-consistent WR2 who has finally hit his stride, but they would lose the ability to witness Tee’s mom hilariously sniping at people on Twitter.
That said, just because Cincinnati shouldn’t (and won’t) trade Higgins, that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t make any moves.
Despite their dreadful start, the Bengals are still in a position to make a run at the playoffs. Cincy has come out on top in three of their last four games, and they have a golden opportunity to get back to an even .500 and make a statement against a potent Philadelphia Eagles offense. In what could potentially be their last year with Higgins, using the trade deadline to fix a few nuts and bolts on the team would be a smart way to make up ground after their rough start.
Knowing the Bengals’ history of vacationing in Cancun during #TradeDeadlineSzn, it’s hard to expect much. No one certainly should anticipate anything to the extent of Cooper Kupp or Myles Garrett. However, the Bengals still have some weak points to address, and there are players involved in smaller moves that would line up with their needs.
Those moves should start with the defensive line. While the front four has certainly stepped up their game over the last few weeks with players getting healthier, a reinforcement acquisition would be a huge benefit, especially as the Bengals have four AFC North matchups remaining. Their rush defense still leaves much to be desired, as they’ve allowed the second-most rushing first downs out of any team in the NFL. In addition, not only does their pass rush only just 12 sacks this season (sixth-fewest in the NFL), but seven of those are credited to Trey Hendrickson. He needs help.
One potential trade candidate includes Las Vegas defensive tackle John Jenkins, a longtime veteran who has started every game in his season-and-a-half tenure with the Raiders. Jenkins has 80 tackles since 2023 and even has a fumblerooski TD for good measure.
The big fella John Jenkins rumbles in for a TD!#LACvsLV on Prime Video
Also available on #NFLPlus https://t.co/ga7O4RMwdt pic.twitter.com/9Lqaw7ntlv— NFL (@NFL) December 15, 2023
It’s not just the defensive side of the trenches. While the offensive line play has dramatically improved over the past few seasons, and despite strong play from the starters, depth remains a concern. While Cincy narrowly escaped a long-term injury with Orlando Brown, they weren’t as lucky with Trent Brown, who went down for the year in Week 3 with a torn patellar tendon.
Cincinnati has already signed offensive tackle Andrew Coker to their practice squad, but a possible additional depth piece could be Tennessee Titans guard Daniel Brunskill. Brunskill has a breadth of experience all across the offensive line, but has played in a limited role with the Titans in 2024 and is set to hit free agency after this season. Tennessee has already dealt DeAndre Hopkins to the Chiefs, and they could continue their fire sale as the November 5 trade deadline looms.
These ideas might be mere pipe dreams for the Bengals, who have made a whopping two midseason trades in the last fifty years, and both trades were more as sellers than buyers. That said, some teams have made moves to contend (the Buffalo Bills trading for Amari Cooper), and other teams have made moves that convince themselves that they could contend, even though nothing about the franchise leads anyone to believe they could win a Super Bowl (the New York Jets trading for Davante Adams).
The Bengals don’t have any major needs to address. They almost certainly won’t acquire a marquee trade candidate. There’s also the very likely possibility that they won’t do anything at all. However, even the smallest of trades could be crucial pieces for the team’s depth in case an injury causes the bottom to fall out of a vulnerable position group.
Up Next