The Cincinnati Bengals stood pat the deadline, which isn’t a surprise to anyone at this point. This isn’t a team that is aggressive when it comes to trades and fans know that by now.
At the same time, however, you can’t help but wonder why the team couldn’t have done what the Jets did on Tuesday afternoon. New York acquired offensive guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif from the Chiefs in exchange for special teams player Daniel Brown, who isn’t a popular player amongst Jets fans, to put it nicely. That’s all the Jets had to give up for LDT.
While LDT hasn’t played a regular-season snap since the 2019 season, that’s a hell of a trade for the Jets to make. They got a starting-caliber offensive guard for virtually nothing. Yes, they have to pay the remainder of his salary but it’s an east contract to get out of. The Bengals could have certainly afforded a trade of this nature.
Trade! The #Jets are sending tight end Dan Brown to the #Chiefs for guard Dr. Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, per sources.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) November 2, 2021
Why couldn’t the Bengals have made a similar deal? After all, the Bengals have a need for guards, as Jackson Carman has been dealing with injuries and inconsistencies since taking over as the starter in Week 3. LDT might not have been the immediate starter but he’d have provided depth at the right guard position.
Bengals should have attempted a value trade for LDT
This is the same old story for Bengals fans. They’re used to not seeing the team be aggressive but it wasn’t crazy to think they wouldn’t make a deal this year. The team is 5-3 and in the running to win one of the most stacked divisions in all of football. If there was a time to be aggressive, it was right now when the team is trending upward.
The Bengals are still a good team moving forward but after seeing how little Duvernay-Tardif was acquired for, I’m puzzled why this team couldn’t have offered them low-hanging fruit in exchange for him. He might not have been the long-term answer at right guard but he’d have been a nice depth piece to have there if Carman continues to show these inconsistencies.