The Cincinnati Bengals seemed to have stumbled upon something solid in the running back room with the emergence of Chase Brown, but an injury to Zack Moss that will likely sideline him for a good chunk of the regular season prompted the Khalil Herbert move.
Herbert was stuck in the No. 3 running back role with the Chicago Bears, as free agent signing D'Andre Swift and power back Roschon Johnson have kicked him to the bench. Herbert needed a team that was going to give him a more stable workload to reach his full potential, and the Bengals just may be that landing spot.
The Bengals acquired Herbert from the Bears in exchange for a seventh-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Bengals fans have to be taken aback by this news, as such trades almost never happen with this team.
According to NFL Research, this move is only the second in-season player trade the Bengals have made in the last 50 years. The only other one was a selling move, as Carlos Dunlap was traded to the Seahawks for BJ Finney and a draft pick. Essentially, Cincinnati buying mid-season has never happened.
#Bengals in-season player acquisitions via trade (1973-present):
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) November 5, 2024
2020 - Traded Carlos Dunlap to #Seahawks for OL B.J. Finney and a 7th-round pick
2024 - Traded a 7th-round pick to #Bears for RB Khalil Herbert
--end list--
(Via NFL Research)
Bengals make unprecedented trade for Bears RB Khalil Herbert
Herbert has just eight carries for 16 yards this season, but he is just a few years removed from a two-season run in which he tallied over 1,300 yards on the ground (5.1 yards per carry) and six touchdowns. Herbert is inconsistent, but he can be a big home-run hitter in the right scheme.
Going from Chicago, who has a rookie in Caleb Williams and a terrible offensive line, to a Bengals team led by Joe Burrow and a high-flying offense could give Herbert the spark he needs to show the NFL world it was foolish to give up on him so soon.
According to Dianna Russini of The Athletic, the Bengals are seemingly interested in making more moves. With the AFC Wild Card race wide open, the Bengals have a distinct advantage at quarterback when compared to almost every other team out there.
Cincinnati is a good team, and Herbert by himself will not make them a great one. However, this does show that the front office realizes they can rebound from a terrible start to the season and make it to the postseason, even if they need some lucky breaks to go their way for that to happen.