Bengals News: Larry Ogunjobi joins Steelers, Trae Waynes done with football

In Bengals news, former Cincinnati defensive lineman Larry Ogunjobi is signing with an AFC North team and former cornerback Trae Waynes says he’s done with football. 

Cincinnati Bengals fans were thrilled with how effective Larry Ogunjobi was during his lone season in the Queen City and some were advocating for the team to bring him back this offseason. He was initially signed by the Bears but a failed physical led to that contract getting torn up and thrown into the trash.

Ogunjobi has finally found a team to visit with and unfortunately, it’s the Steelers who have taken a shine to the former Bengals’ defensive tackle. After signing with Pittsburgh, Ojunjobi has been on three AFC North teams’ rosters, as he also spent four years in Cleveland before playing for the Bengals last year.

Speaking of former Bengals, cornerback Trae Waynes has come out publicly and said that “Honestly, in my head, I’m done” when it comes to playing football again.

Waynes was signed to a three-year deal worth $42 million in the 2020 offseason and could go down as the worst free-agent signing in Bengals history. Waynes missed all of 2020 due to injury and then was banged up again this past year. He appeared in just five regular-season games and by the end of the playoffs, he was only appearing on special teams. He was released this offseason.

Check out what’s trending in Bengals news.

• Pittsburgh Steelers sign DT Larry Ogunjobi to one-year deal [ESPN]
• Trae Waynes, released by the Bengals in March: ‘Honestly, in my head, I’m done’ [Dave Clark, Cincinnati Enquirer]
• Trae Waynes says ‘in my head, I’m done’ with football after seven NFL seasons with Bengals and Vikings [Shanna McCarriston, CBS Sports]
• Bengals defense could benefit from Jessie Bates trade [Dustin Gardner, Stripe Hype]

It was disappointing that the Bengals never made a run at bringing Ogunjobi back but they re-signed B.J. Hill instead and felt that was enough when it came to the defensive line. Now that Ogunjobi is a Steeler, Cincinnati will get to face him twice during the 2022 season and will see if they made the right choice in passing on re-signing him.

As for Waynes, it was a bad signing but fans shouldn’t blame the Bengals for trying. Waynes was a solid contributor during his time in Minnesota and the injuries only started once he joined the stripes. It didn’t work out but we’ve seen Cincinnati’s recent free-agent signings pan out. Sometimes, things just don’t work out with those kinds of things.