This Minkah Fitzpatrick trade package is well worth Bengals letting it rip

One way or another, the Cincinnati Bengals will find a way to upgrade their safety position. Jordan Battle is a decent incumbent starter, but under no circumstances should Geno Stone return to the team.

Stone is such a blindingly obvious "let him walk" candidate that he didn't even merit a mention among five pending free agents the Bengals shouldn't hesitate to usher out of Cincinnati.

So what will the Bengals do? Will they pray Ohio State star Caleb Downs is there with the 10th overall pick in the draft? Or will they pony up the cash for a top safety on the open market?

There's actually a third option who could be had on the cheap...

Minkah Fitzpatrick trade would (somewhat) redeem Duke Tobin for huge mistake

John Sheeran of A to Z Sports submitted his take on a hypothetical Minkah Fitzpatrick trade, and it'd be an absolute no-brainer if the Bengals could steal him from the Miami Dolphins for such a minimal price.

Sheeran's proposal gets Fitzpatrick to Cincinnati in exchange for a 2026 sixth-round pick and wide receiver Andrei Iosivas. Here's the key bit from how he broke it down:

"The Bengals are expected to be active in that FA safety market, but they also have the salary cap space to absorb Fitzpatrick’s $15.6 cap hit as the acquiring team. They also have a starting-level receiver in Iosivas to offer following Tyreek Hill’s release from the Dolphins. The Joe Flacco trade also netted Cincy with an extra sixth-round pick, so Miami can add a pick to a round in the 2026 NFL Draft it didn’t already have."

Iosivas has enough potential to sell the Dolphins on. After all, they're pretty thin at wide receiver beyond Jaylen Waddle. With the way Miami is getting rid of players of late, who knows? Waddle may be on the trade block soon enough.

Because the Fins are having such a fire sale, too, they'll take darn near anything for Fitzpatrick. The Bengals' offer doesn't mean much for them, but it's a king's ransom compared to what other suitors could put up.

@AndreBengals knows ball and knows what I'm saying here.

Whomever the Dolphins roll with as their starting quarterback next season, they're starving for wide receiver talent. The unrelated Malik and Tahj Washington are both undersized slot types, whereas Iosivas can function as a big slot but also has the adequate 6'3" frame to play on the boundary.

I've been banging the drum for months about how Cincinnati needs to upgrade its WR3 spot. Even to the point of drafting, say, USC wideout Makai Lemon with the No. 10 pick.

Getting Fitzpatrick to fill the dire safety need for a mere Day 3 pick and someone the Bengals could easily upgrade from in Iosivas would be incredible. Additionally, Fitzpatrick's presence in the secondary would take away the bitter taste from Duke Tobin's infamous decision to let Jessie Bates walk in free agency back in 2023.

For those still keeping score, the Bengals haven't found a viable Bates replacement all these years later, and he's just coming off a second-team All-Pro 2025 campaign for the Falcons.

If the poor-tackling Cincinnati defense could have Fitzpatrick as a box safety, it'd be quite the boon to the whole unit. Fitzpatrick was miscast in 2025, taking on the most snaps of his career at nickel since his rookie season. No coincidence that it led to his second-highest missed tackle rate, per PFF.

Now that Jalen Davis is officially staying put as the Bengals' starting nickelback, Fitzpatrick can split time in the box and play deep safety whenever it's necessary. What's great, too, is that Fitzpatrick's arrival doesn't preclude the Bengals from drafting another safety not named Caleb Downs to solidify the position group for now and into the future.

Battle and Fitzpatrick are both on expiring contracts after all, so I doubt both would stay in Cincy. Sign me up for another USC guy, Bishop Fitzgerald. No bias despite the shared surname.

A Fitzgerald-Fitzpatrick safety tandem would be pretty dope, you gotta admit. He's good, y'all. So is Minkah Fitzpatrick.