The Cincinnati Bengals aren’t known as a team that’s aggressive when it comes to making trades. In fact, when researching this article, I found it difficult to even find many trades the Bengals had made at all.
With that said, I’ve come up with six disappointing trades in Bengals history. These might not have necessarily been bad trades for Cincinnati but rather, it was disappointing for a variety of reasons. Maybe the player was one that fans didn’t want to see leave or maybe the other team got the better end of the deal even if it was a decent trade.
With that said, let’s take a look at the six most disappointing trades for the Cincinnati Bengals.
Trade for Cordy Glenn in 2018
During the 2018 offseason, the Cincinnati Bengals made the decision to trade for left tackle, Cordy Glenn, who went in the second round of the 2012 NFL Draft to the Buffalo Bills. Glenn appeared in 78 games at left tackle for the Bills from 2012-2017 but had been banged up in his final season there, prompting the trade.
In exchange, the two teams swapped first-rounders, with the Bengals moving back to pick No. 21 and the Bills landing at No. 12 overall and also swapped fifth and sixth rounders.
The trade was perplexing at the time because of Glenn’s injury history and it proved to be disappointing. He played in just 19 games over two years with the team and is out of the league at the moment.
The Bills went on to trade up from pick No. 12 to pick No. 7 to acquire Josh Allen while the Bengals stood pat at No. 21 and took Billy Price. Had they remained at No. 12, they could have landed some names such as Vita Vea, Derwin James, Jaire Alexander, or Frank Ragnow. Instead, they settled on Price, who is now with the Giants after being traded over the summer.
Trading Bill Bergey in 1974
The Bengals spent a second-round pick on linebacker Bill Bergey in the 1969 draft and he was a productive player for them in his five years with the team. Unfortunately, the two sides didn’t get along and by 1974, things came to a head.
Bergey signed a contract to play with the World Football Team following the end of his contract with the Bengals, which expired in 1976. This obviously did not go over well with the Bengals organization and they offered him up on the trade market instead.
The Eagles were the winners in the Bergey sweepstakes and in return, Cincinnati received three draft picks. Bergey went on to play the next seven years in Philadelphia and made it to four Pro Bowls and receive one All-Pro honor.
Cincinnati didn’t do horribly with their haul, landing Wilson Whitley, Ray Griffin, and Ross Browner with those three picks they acquired from Philly. Whitley played for six years in the Queen City, Griffin spent seven years with the organization, and Browner was in Cincinnati for nine years.
It wasn’t a bad haul by any means but it was disappointing to see Bergey leave despite what he had been able to do for the organization up to that point. But hey — It could have been worse, right?
Trading Carson Palmer in 2011
This is another trade that makes this list because of “what could have been” when it comes to the player being traded. We all know that Carson Palmer was a fantastic quarterback but he was at his wits end with the Bengals organization and it led to the franchise finally trading their former No. 1 overall pick after he spent eight years in the Queen City.
Palmer was sent to Oakland in exchange for a first-round pick in the 2012 NFL Draft and a second-round pick in 2013. These picks ended up turning into Dre Kirkpatrick and Giovani Bernard, who were both solid players during their Bengals tenures.
Be that as it may, it was disappointing to see the Palmer era end the way that it did.
Under Palmer, the Bengals made the playoffs twice and had some really explosive offenses. But his frustration came to a head when the team faltered in 2010 and he demanded a trade or else he’d retire. That put the organization in a tough spot, as they’d either have to trade their franchise quarterback or hold onto him but risk him not playing.
Well, the Bengals called his bluff and Palmer sat out the early portion of the 2011 season. After a month had passed in the 2011 season, Palmer was sent to Oakland for the aforementioned picks.
It was a trade that worked out okay for the Bengals but fans were certainly saddened to see the Palmer era come to an end in the way that it did. He was a great quarterback and to see him finish his career elsewhere when he could have played out the rest of his career with the team who drafted him was frustrating.
Trading for the No. 1 pick in 1995
The Panthers were set to have the No. 1 pick in the 1995 NFL Draft due to being one of the two expansion teams from the year before. Cincinnati decided to trade the fifth overall pick to move up into the top spot for the rights to draft Penn State running back, Ki-Jana Carter.
Bengals fans surely hear that name and groan, as Carter was dreadful as an NFL running back. The Penn State product missed his entire rookie season due to an injury and went on to play just four seasons with the team who drafted him, appearing in 35 total games and making only 14 starts.
During that time, Carter totaled a mere 747 yards off of 227 carries with 16 rushing touchdowns to his name. He also had 52 receptions for 375 receiving yards and a touchdown through the air as well.
Carter played for Washington and New Orleans in the final three years of his career but was out of the league after 2004. Had the Bengals stood pat at pick No. 5, they could have landed quarterback Kerry Collins, Hall of Fame defensive tackle Warren Sapp, Hall of Fame cornerback Ty Law, or Hall of Fame linebacker Derrick Brooks.
But, the Bengals were aggressive and went for the seemingly can’t miss running back product out of Penn State. Maybe he could have been the player they were hoping for, but injuries prevented any chance of that happening.
The trade to move up to take Ki-Jana Carter in 1995 is easily one of the most disappointing trades Cincinnati ever made.
Trading for the rights to sign Reggie Rembert in 1990
In my quest to find some of the most disappointing trades in Bengals history, I stumbled upon a video from Official JaguarGator9 on YouTube, who detailed the riskiest trade in the history of the Cincinnati Bengals.
The aforementioned trade involved the Bengals acquiring wide receiver Reggie Rembert from the Jets in exchange for Scott Jones and Joe Kelly.
Rembert was a star wide receiver at West Virginia in 1988 and 1989, who totaled 1,366 yards and 18 touchdowns during his two seasons there while also scoring three rushing touchdowns. He was an elusive playmaker for the Mountaineers and it’s no wonder why the Jets took him in the second round of the 1990 NFL Draft.
After the Jets selected Rembert, the video mentions that the rookie was late for his arrival in the Big Apple and when he did finally arrive, no one from the Jets organization was there to pick him up. Oof.
From there, it continued to spiral. The Jets lowballed Rembert and this eventually came to a head, as they realized they were far from getting a deal done and put the West Virginia product on the trade block.
The Bengals needed help at the wide receiver position behind Eddie Brown and Tim McGee and hadn’t drafted a receiver until the fifth round of the 1990 NFL Draft. So, they decided to be bold and acquire only the rights to sign Rembert. To trade away a talented 26-year-old linebacker like Joe Kelly only for the RIGHTS to sign a player was an incredibly bold move.
Fortunately, it wasn’t a total disaster, as Rembert and the Bengals did agree on a deal. That was about the only positive thing to come from this trade, as he didn’t play in 1990 due to injury though and when he was on the field, not much production was to be had.
Rembert played just 28 games and made four starts during his three-year NFL career (not just Bengals career), grabbing 36 catches for 437 yards and one touchdown. His injury problems paired with his off-the-field issues eventually resulted in Rembert being out of the league after just three years.
This was definitely a risky trade and it didn’t pan out for the Bengals. Meanwhile, Kelly went on to play seven more years. Cincinnati could have used him, that’s for sure.
Trading Charlie Joiner in 1976
The easiest entry on this list involves the trading of Charlie Joiner.
Joiner was a fourth-round pick by the Houston Oilers in 1969 and found his way to Cincinnati in 1972. From there, he mostly served as a third-string wideout for the Bengals and the team ended up sending him to San Diego in exchange for Coy Bacon and a first-round pick.
Well, as we all know, Joiner went on to do in San Diego and he did it as early as his first year with his new team. He went for over 1,000 yards receiving in 1976 and made it to the Pro Bowl. He spent the final 11 years of his career with the Chargers and finished it up with 9,203 receiving yards and a trip to the Hall of Fame in Canton.
Meanwhile, Bacon was only in Cincinnati for two years and the first-round pick turned into William Brooks, who spent just four years with the Bengals and only six years total in the league.
The Bengals gave up on Joiner way too soon and weren’t using him the right way. He was a Hall of Fame wide receiver who could have been a bright spot for this team for over a decade but instead, he merited two disappointing players in return while he went on to shine in San Diego.
This is easily the worst and most disappointing trade the Bengals have ever made.