Per usual, Bengals are quiet at trade deadline
Bengal fans should not get their hopes up at the trade deadline.
From everything we know about the Cincinnati Bengals and the way Marvin Lewis and Mike Brown run the team, fans should not get their hopes up at the NFL trade deadline.
The Bengals are usually not a sexy team. They do not spend big money on free agents and they do not make blockbuster in-season moves.
The only recent big move Cincinnati has made on this day was in 2011 when they traded Carson Palmer, a player who refused to wear the uniform ever again, to Oakland for quality draft picks.
Many are hoping the latter proves false today at the NFL’s trade deadline. The Bengals are 3-4 and still alive in the playoff race, but Sunday’s one-point win over the lowly Colts left more questions than answers.
Cincinnati’s offensive line remains in shambles. Andy Dalton was sacked three times and hit eight more against Indianapolis. A road contest with Jacksonville is up next against a defense that leads the NFL in sacks with 33.
So, maybe the Bengals try to get a productive offensive lineman at the deadline?
Options available and trade bait
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There are a few options at the tackle position for Cincinnati to chase, but so far have not. Houston’s Duane Brown, who held out for much of this year, was shipped to Seattle.
There’s also Buffalo’s Cordy Glenn. A sixth-year tackle whose name has been circling around NFL trade rumors recently.
The Bengals have pieces to trade. They have all seven of their picks for next year’s draft and will likely get compensatory selections for Andrew Whitworth and Kevin Zeitler. There’s also AJ McCarron, who is in his fourth season of clipboard duty. Finally, Jeremy Hill remains the “starter” but has not logged more than seven carries in a game this season.
But wait
Not so fast, though. Going after Glenn, who posted a 97.3 pass-blocking grade in the Bills win over Oakland on Sunday, would mean Cincinnati would have to admit defeat on Cedric Ogbuehi and Jake Fisher. The two tackles selected in the first and second round, respectively, by the club in 2015.
The Bengals are not usually buyers at the deadline. Despite the fact that they have pieces to move and glaring holes on the offensive line, the higher-ups in the front office likely won’t pull the trigger with (at the time) 50 minutes left until the 4:00 p.m. deadline.
Instead, they will stumble along with the pieces they have. Trying to groom sub-par linemen into something they haven’t been all season – serviceable.
With questions already surrounding first-rounder John Ross and his role in the offense, plus the need to protect their franchise quarterback, fans should brace for impact on deadline day for nothing more than a 25 mile-per-hour drive with the windows down on a fall afternoon, which isn’t the sexy route, but it’s one the Bengals are known for and comfortable with.
Cincinnati will stick with a formula that has its quarterback running for his life every Sunday. Why?Because they are not willing to risk a deal that doesn’t pay off.