When the Cincinnati Bengals dealt veteran linebacker Logan Wilson away to the Cowboys early in the morning on the day of the trade deadline, many fans assumed that they were officially selling and tossing in the towel on the season.
While Wilson had lost a step and hadn't been as good as he was in previous years in coverage, he was still a valued member of the defense, a captain, and much better than the rookies who he was sidelined for.
However, that was not the case. Sticking to their usual script, the front office remained quiet as the 4 o'clock deadline approached, not making any more trades. Most notably, despite half-hearted efforts to do so, they ultimately didn't end up trading away Trey Hendrickson.
It would have made a lot of sense to do so, since he would have netted the most draft capital out of anyone on the defense and is on an expiring contract, yet he remains a Bengal for at least the rest of the 2025 season. So, that makes their goals for the season clear: win and somehow find a way into January football.
Despite sitting at 3-6, having a defense that is as penetrable as damp toilet paper, and losing back-to-back games at home in increasingly heartbreaking fashion to the Bears and lowly 1-7 Jets, the Bengals are not waving the flag on the 2025 NFL season. If there's still a path to the playoffs, they'll be playing for it.
Realistic? No. Expected? Yes. This team has never been one to tank. Whenever they're terrible, it's not on purpose. Even in one of the worst years in franchise history from a record standpoint, the 2019 season, when they finished 2-14, late game heroics from Andy Dalton led to a miraculous 4th quarter comeback against the Miami Dolphins, nearly playing themselves out of position to draft #9. The Dolphins would go on to win in overtime, but if you're intentionally trying to lose, that comeback doesn't happen in the first place.
If the Bengals want to get back on a winning track and put themselves in a position where a Joe Burrow return wouldn't be absolutely pointless, these players have to see the field more down the stretch.
All stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference.
WR Mitchell Tinsley
You wouldn't expect anyone on the offense to be here-- and rightfully so. They've been performing incredibly these last few weeks, and the Flacco trade has reinvigorated an offense that was dead in the water. Even the offensive line is holding up fairly well (my apologies, Scott Peters), though some of that may be on the fact that the 41-year old gets the ball out so fast.
Either way, the offense is humming, both in the passing and rushing game. There is one glaring hole in it, though. It's largely masked by the weekly efforts of Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, and even Noah Fant, who has turned out to be a nice addition to this offense.
But it's time to consider WR3 to be a hole. Andrei Iosivas is a fine rotational receiver, yet he does not raise the floor of this unit in any way as a starter.
Heading into the bye week, "Yoshi" is having the worst season of his young career. Crucial drops and a failure to create separation have been the story for Iosivas this season, and the coaches need to consider someone else taking his snaps.
Andrei Iosivas has the 3rd most receiving snaps on the team. He's last on the team in separation rate, isn't making contested catches (only 2 for 9 on contested throws) and leads the team with 4 drops.
— Andrew Russell (@Andrew_Russell7) October 27, 2025
Spread the snaps somewhere else.
So, why not give Mitchell Tinsley a shot? It's uncertain if he really is WR3 material, but in his limited opportunities, he's looked like the better option. He has the same amount of touchdowns as Iosivas on the season (1), and he hauled in a huge 27-yard catch against the Bears on Sunday.
Tinsley has shown enough to be given a shot, and with how Iosivas has regressed, he should see the field more when the Bengals come off their break.
EDGE Cedric Johnson
The rest of this list is defensive players. Go figure.
It's hard to pinpoint the worst room on this defense. Interior defensive line? Linebackers? Safeties? Well, when Trey Hendrickson isn't in the game, it's hard to say anything but the defensive end unit. Even with Hendrickson missing three games and playing on a bad hip, he has more sacks than anyone else in the room. Or on the team as a whole. Joseph Ossai is second with 3.0, and it's clear the injuries are catching up to him and limiting him as an athlete.
The rest is a whole lot of nothing. Shemar Stewart got hit by the injury bug as well, but even on the field, the only game he played to that first-round pedigree was against the Browns in Week 1. Whenever he gets close to making a play, which he does quite often, it's like he forgets how to play football, as if the ball has some mind-warping ability whenever you get within five feet of it. It's good to get pressure, but at some point, you have to sack the quarterback or make a tackle-for-loss. And it appears the injury bug bit him again during the Bears game.
Besides those three, you have Myles Murphy and Cam Sample. Murphy's case is similar to Stewart's. Lack of college production, very athletic, so far very underwhelming. And he's in year 3 of his NFL career. Sample isn't bad for a 5th round pick, and has shown some flash in previous seasons, but this year he's been a ghost. With how bad the EDGE unit has been and the pass rush as a whole, let's give 2nd-year Bengal Cedric Johnson some run.
For a sixth-round pick, Johnson actually showed some potential in his rookie season, recording a sack and five pressures in very limited opportunities. And after missing the first half of the season and making his debut on Sunday vs. Chicago, he looked like the most capable pass rusher on the field for Cincinnati, and made more of an impact in one game than some players in that room have made all season.
Cedric Johnson had 2 pressures and a pass rush win with only 8 rushes in the first half against the Bears.
— Gridiron Grading (@GridironGrading) November 2, 2025
Double his snaps in the second half and see what you have there.
If you want any chance of making a quarterback's life any harder, especially if Hendrickson and Stewart continue to miss time, Cedric Johnson has to see the field more moving forward.
LB Oren Burks
If the goal was to win these last few games, which it almost certainly was, then the decision to bench Logan Wilson is a puzzling one, because rookie linebackers Demetrius Knight Jr. and Barrett Carter have been anything but starter quality. In fact, they've ranked as the two worst linebackers in the league according to PFF, and Demetrius Knight Jr. has already racked up 14 missed tackles on the season, good (or bad, rather) for second in the entire league. We'll get to number one shortly.
This is especially bad in the case of Knight because not only was he a second-round pick (which was considered a heavy reach, even on draft night), but he is also 25 years old. The same age that former Bengal linebacker Germaine Pratt was during their Super Bowl run. He should be more polished and, at the very least, a below-average linebacker, not bottom of the barrel. It's clear that they need a veteran presence in the middle of the field, and Oren Burks is a perfect candidate.
At the time of his signing, Burks was considered to be a sneakily good addition for this Cincinnati defense. He played a very big part in the Eagles' Super Bowl run as he filled in for injuries in their linebacker room, and the Bengals got him for fairly cheap, signing him to a 2-year, $5 million contract. Unfortunately, Burks has only really been used on special teams, playing just 24% of defensive snaps.
His PFF grade is only a 58.9, which isn't great, but the sample size is small and it's still far better than what Demetrius Knight Jr. and Barrett Carter have been given. If the goal is to win, Burks needs to be given that starter role. His presence out there could make an immediate impact on a defense that is quickly becoming one of the worst in NFL history.
Anyone else in the safety room
Are you ready for who #1 on the missed tackles leaderboard is? The answer is 2023 3rd-round pick Jordan Battle. And Geno Stone hasn't been much better, ranking third on the same leaderboard. They've also both proven to be liabilities in coverage. Sure, they've grabbed 4 interceptions together, but as a duo they've also given up 32 receptions, nearly 600 yards, 5 touchdowns and allowed a combined rating of 99.2, according to Pro Football Reference.
Fans can mock Caleb Downs to Cincy all they want-- it would be a great pick, but chances are they'll play themselves out of a position to draft him-- but if the goal is to win, they need an immediate change. The depth in the safety room doesn't spark much hope, but with how Stone and Battle have played so far this season, some of the guys in there should get a shot.
Tycen Anderson hasn't really gotten a chance to play safety much in his NFL career, but he has been a great gunner on punts and is surely better at tackling than #1 and #3 on the missed tackles leaderboard. PJ Jules is a UDFA out of FCS team Southern Illinois and has also been almost exclusively a special teamer in his rookie season so far, let's see what he can do out there. Daijahn Anthony is 7th-round pick from the 2024 class whose rookie season was mostly remembered for a late pass interference penalty against the Chiefs that ended up costing the Bengals the game, but even he showed a little flash.
Granted, Anthony is on IR as of my writing this, but once he returns, he should get to see the field as well. This defense literally can't get any worse than it already is.
Playoff hopes may be flushed down the toilet, but the Bengals are always going to be chipping away at the pipes, trying to fish them out. If they want any shot of securing a spot in the postseason, these players need to start getting more snaps.