The Cincinnati Bengals are still searching for help on at least the first two levels of their defense. If they're not keen on signing a linebacker to compete with rising second-year players Demetrius Knight Jr. and Barrett Carter, perhaps they'll spring for a true run stopper at nose tackle.
Last offseason's "big" free-agent acquisition, T.J. Slaton, is supposed to play that role. He wasn't exactly a major impact player in 2025, and he's a free agent after this coming season.
Ohio State's Kayden McDonald is a worthy first-round pick to fill that role. However, is 10th overall too rich for him?
It makes all the sense in the world for Cincinnati to rejoin forces with an anchor of their d-line from Super Bowl LVI and the next year's AFC runner-up team. Alas, he may be defecting to the Baltimore Ravens.
D.J. Reader visits Ravens & could possibly join former Bengals teammate Trey Hendrickson in Baltimore
We at Stripe Hype have advocated time and again over the past several months for the Bengals to bring back defensive tackle D.J. Reader. He's such an obvious fix to what ails Cincinnati's reigning 32nd-ranked run defense, yet he still sits unsigned on the open market.
Welp. The Baltimore Ravens know a thing or two about how to build a quality roster. New head coach Jesse Minter is one of the elite defensive minds in the sport. They think highly enough of Reader to court him in free agency, evident in his visit to Baltimore on Thursday, per NFL Media's Ian Rapoport.
After years of contract negotiating standoffs, studly pass rusher Trey Hendrickson was finally fed up and fled Cincinnati to join the Ravens. Not to play on the edge opposite Maxx Crosby as allegedly planned, but instead opposite 2025 first-round pick Mike Green.
Watching Hendrickson in a Ravens uniform twice a season is going to be odd enough. Football gods, please don't let D.J. Reader fall to the same fate!
If Nnamdi Madubuike comes back from his neck injury as something close to his usual dominant self in 2026, and Travis Jones keeps holding it down at nose tackle, Baltimore could have arguably the NFL's most formidable interior defensive line trio if Reader joins the fold. Quite the weaponry to arm a defensive play-caller like Minter with in Year 1, never mind the Lamar Jackson-led offense.
If only the Bengals had a little more cap space to play with. They could have with some obvious contract maneuvers. But let's not open that can of worms again. It's getting exhausting, yo.