Will the Cincinnati Bengals do anything at the trade deadline?

Will the Cincinnati Bengals make any moves as Tuesday’s trade deadline draws nearer?

First year head coach Zac Taylor has certainly not had the start to his head coaching career that he wanted. His team sits at 0-7.  Everyone knew there would be growing pains, but for the Bengals to be this bad is disappointing for fans, players, and coaches alike and mildly surprising to some fans. Injuries have played a role, but It seems that the holes on this roster are more gaping than originally thought.

Taylor has made his share of mistakes as young coaches do. However the front office didn’t do much to upgrade the on field personnel during the offseason and it has shown. Needs at linebacker and offensive line are obvious, but cornerback depth as well as depth in the defensive line are areas of need too.

Quarterback also has to become an area of concern at this point. In addition to shaky play, Andy Dalton’s contract and age hints that it may be time to move on sooner rather than later.

One thing is for certain, this front office cannot afford to just sit on their collective hands any longer.  The window has closed on the era of guys like Dalton, Carlos Dunlap, Geno Atkins, Tyler Eifert and A.J. Green. Make no mistake, they all had solid runs in the stripes, but they have taken this franchise as far as they can.

Taylor has not backed down on the stance that Green is not going anywhere. This is likely ownership talking via Taylor. Arguments can be made on both sides. However, I feel this team needs to stock pile draft assets for the future. That means moving on from established veterans while you can still get some value out of them. As painful as it may be, these aren’t personal decisions, they are personnel decisions. The Bengals don’t have to move everybody, but should make some moves.

The bottom line is this. The trade deadline is quickly approaching and the Bengals have to get the ball rolling on the future right now. Bengals brass has preached a “New Dey” ever since Taylor was hired. However, doing nothing at the deadline would not be new at all. There are a few quality young players on this roster that could make an impact on the next era of football for the Bengals. It is time to decide who those guys are and start building around them.