Death, taxes, slow starts, and Cincinnati standing pat at the Trade Deadline. Is this about the Bengals or Reds? The shoe sure does fit both franchises of late but there are legitimate reasons why an inactive Bengals trade deadline is in the near future.
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Starting 3-3, thanks to a pair of solid wins, the Bengals are coming off their bye with a tough test ahead of them. The San Francisco 49ers have one of the best rosters in the NFL and it does not get much easier after that. Due to the fact that the Super Bowl window is ideally wide open during the Joe Burrow era, it only makes sense that many would be anxious about this year.
No matter how many, “Go get Hayden Hurst back” or clever jersey swap edits on social media, Cincinnati is not likely to take advantage of this year’s trade deadline. Fans can be disappointed all they want. As Nick Saban put it, “It’s not happening, so quit askin’!”
Expect a Quiet Bengals Trade Deadline
It’s Just Not How They Operate
The issue with how the Bengals operate is how the fans expect the team to break norms. Unfortunately, it’s just not how the Bengals roll.
Since 2000, the Cincinnati Bengals have made a grand total of 23 trades. That breaks down as follows:
- Two in-season
- Four preseason
- 17 offseason
Those trades were:
- Three player-for-player (or close)
- Three trades FOR a player
- Five trades where they traded a player AWAY
- 12 draft pick trades
So, in essence, Cincinnati has made just two trades in-season. Those two trades?
October 18, 2011: Carson Palmer was traded to the Raiders for a 2012 first (Dre Kirkpatrick) and a 2013 second (Giovani Bernard).
October 28, 2020: Carlos Dunlap was traded to the Seattle Seahawks for B.J. Finney and a 2021 seventh (Wyatt Huber).
Neither trade was as a “buyer,” so to speak. It was all about offloading frustrated veteran players. The Bengals just don’t make in-season trades and they certainly don’t trade FOR players in season.
Now, the Joe Burrow effect may make the Bengals change their course. However, don’t be surprised if the clock strikes 4:00 p.m. EDT on October 31st and the Bengals don’t show up on the NFL transaction page.
The End May Not Justify the Means
The world is not broken up into two groups of people. Not every team is as stingy as the Bengals but not every team is as liberal with their picks as the Los Angeles Rams. There is a price for every player and it’s not going to come out in the Bengals’ favor, more than likely.
Let’s take Hayden Hurst as an example. The Bengals do desperately need tight end help. If Irv Smith, Jr. is the ONLY pass-catching threat at tight end, you’re already handicapping yourself. Expectations were that Smith could at least come close to Hurst’s production and he’s nowhere close. Are injuries to blame? Or, is he just not a very good tight end? Either way, that aspect of the offense is sorely missing.
Last year, Hurst was a great security blanket for Burrow when/if he could not distribute to Ja’Marr Chase or Tee Higgins. Hurst embodied everything the Bengals want in a tight end. He’s gritty, moderately athletic, and can find the soft spots in the zone. Trading for Hurst seems like a no-brainer, right?
The Bengals did not seriously pursue Hurst in free agency, according to Malik Wright (The Wright Report) and James Rapien (All Bengals, Locked on Bengals). They likely wanted him back but for cheap. Do you honestly expect them to pony up the cash they didn’t want to spend back in March AND send Carolina draft capital?
The key word here is “serious”
Given the tight end market, Hurst got the BAG in Carolina. Dalton Schultz, Mike Gesicki and others weren’t as lucky. Hard to blame the Bengals for not wanting to give any tight end a 3 year deal in March. https://t.co/vSOMWbnYq7
— James Rapien (@JamesRapien) October 27, 2023
Now, there are plenty of players who should be on the Bengals radar. Hunter Henry would be a fun addition. Elsewhere on offense, a guy like James Conner could join the fray with the recent injury to Chase Brown. The players are out there but the Bengals trade deadline strategy is to just go forward with their guys unless they get a trade offer that is an obvious win for the franchise.
The Best is Yet to Come
Thus far in 2023, the Bengals have not hit their stride. The defense has played well despite having the weight of the world on its shoulders to make up for the offense. The offense has struggled mostly due to the nagging Burrow calf injury. Despite a 3-3 record and looking downright awful in two and dropping another to the Baltimore Ravens, the Bengals have plenty to look forward to.
Getting Burrow to 100% (or close) is about as crucial as anything. In his last game before the bye, Burrow looked to be close to what he was supposed to be. Against Arizona, Burrow was able to lead the team to victory with help from Chase’s record-breaking day. Cincinnati finally got the deep ball from Burrow to open the second half and it was perfect. The first half of the game against the Seahawks was almost perfect. He was able to step into his passes, uncork it, and even move around in the pocket. The second half was not as clinical, however.
With a full week off, the Bengals are going to get (mostly) healthy. With Burrow’s calf healing and Higgins’ rib getting better, this offense is going to be able to get the job done in the weeks ahead. In those three wins, the defense is to thank for two. Lou Anarumo’s defense continues to earn its paycheck week in and week out and has few glaring concerns.
All in all, this is not to say the Bengals should not make any moves. They really should look to fortify the interior defensive line, tight ends, running backs, and corner (because you can never have too many corners) units. If they can get a playmaker or even a rotational piece for a day three pick, they should pull the trigger. Cincinnati is likely going to get a couple of compensatory picks so they can afford to lose one. Or, at the very least, see if they can offload depth (ie Jackson Carman) and get something, anything back for a failed project.
The reality is that year after year, no matter how good or bad they are, the Bengals trade deadline strategy is the same: do nothing.
Main Image: Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK
