We have reached peak NFL trade deadline season, it appears. The Cincinnati Bengals' year is far from over after a pair of wins in a row, and Joe Burrow appears to be in a rhythm with his offense. It took a while, but here we are.
Now, with the Bengals sitting at 3-4 and well within reach of a postseason berth, fans are wondering whether or not the team is going to make a move before the November 5 trade deadline.
One area the Bengals need to shore up is when it comes to getting after the quarterback. At the moment, Trey Hendrickson has seven of the team's 12 total sacks on the year. Those 12 sacks are also good for sixth-fewest in the NFL. One might think having Hendrickson is enough, but that hasn't been the case.
With Cincinnati's offense being good enough to put up points, it's clearly the defensive side of the ball that needs help. You could argue going after help in the secondary is high on their priority list, but could adding a pass rusher make sense?
To an extent, yes.
However, to the extent of Cincinnati even thinking they'd have a shot at landing Cleveland Browns pass rusher Myles Garrett? That's just plain silly.
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Apparently, the idea is worth talking about, though. Bleacher Report's Alex Kay recently floated out a few different Garrett trade ideas with the Browns likely going into selling mode, and the Bengals were one of the four proposed destinations.
Proposed trade would send Myles Garrett to the Bengals
Now, just for the sake of looking at the entirety of Kay's argument here, let's take a look at the proposed deal.
Now, on one hand, the Bengals giving up that kind of draft capital for any player seems absolutely insane. Looking at shipping off three of their first four picks in 2026 is just plain silly. So, for that reason, take this off the table.
But, it doesn't stop there. The idea of trading Garrett, in the first place, seems highly unlikely. While there have been reports of teams "fishing" for Garrett, the reality is, we're talking about arguably the most dominant player on that side of the ball, in all of the NFL.
Cleveland has some major issues at quarterback, with the Deshaun Watson injury and his contract situation of course. Draft capital is going to be the way the Browns get back on the right track. But, to think they'd make a trade like this within the division?
It'll never happen. The Bengals might actually jump at the chance to get Garrett, to be honest. But, would the Browns be foolish enough to trade him to a division rival, let alone at all? There's no way the city of Cleveland doesn't end up rioting if a deal like this goes down.
You cannot follow maybe the worst trade in league history by trading a franchise cornerstone in his prime. You just can't do that.
The Bengals will have to look elsewhere. The low-substance fodder was fun while it lasted.