Sitting in second place in a winnable AFC North, the 3-5 Bengals let an opportunity to make up ground on the division-leading Steelers slip away last week. Hours before the Steelers fell to 4-3 against the Packers on Sunday night, the Bengals dropped a 39-38 shootout to the Jets, who entered the game 0-7.
The Bengals will have a chance to bounce back Sunday against the Bears in their last game before Tuesday’s trade deadline. Despite dealing with an AC joint sprain in his throwing shoulder, quarterback Joe Flacco is expected to start.
Regardless of the outcome against Chicago, it appears the Bengals are in for a quiet deadline. They’re “highly unlikely to make a move” to bring in more outside talent after already acquiring Flacco from the Browns last month, according to Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic. The Bengals also received a sixth-round pick in the Flacco deal, but they parted with a fifth-rounder in return.
The team took a flier on Flacco in a season-saving effort after losing starter Joe Burrow to a toe injury and seeing backup signal-caller Jake Browning perform poorly in his place. Cincinnati is “extremely hesitant to ever surrender future picks,” Dehner writes, making it unlikely that it will cough up even more draft capital in the next few days.
On paper, a loss to the Bears could make the Bengals more likely to sell. With that in mind, superstar pass rusher Trey Hendrickson, linebacker Logan Wilson, and cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt are on the radar of contending teams. The Rams, 49ers, Lions, Colts, and Eagles are among the clubs that have made calls on those players, Dianna Russini of The Athletic reports. It appears they’ll have to look elsewhere, though.
Hendrickson is a pending free agent who would bring back a quality return in a trade, but Dehner dismisses the possibility of the Bengals dealing him. They’ve shown no willingness to punt a season in early November to acquire future draft choices, per Dehner. That would rule out a Hendrickson trade.
The Bengals have at least given some consideration to parting with Wilson, Albert Breer of SI.com relays. With rookies Demetrius Knight and Barrett Carter eating into his playing time, Wilson requested a deal out of Cincinnati last week. He’s probably not going to get his way, though, with Dehner pointing to his pricey contract (he’s under wraps through 2027 on a four-year, $36MM extension) and his role in the Bengals’ defense as reasons why he’ll stay put. There’s a better chance of the Bengals getting rid of Wilson after the season than during it.
Like Hendrickson and Wilson, Dehner expects Taylor-Britt to finish the season in Cincinnati. The free agent-to-be was a healthy scratch in a win over the Steelers in Week 7, but he returned to play 76% of defensive snaps against the Jets. The Bengals still value him as their No. 3 corner over their options.
While a Burrow return sometime in December would be a best-case scenario, the Bengals will likely need to stay in the playoff race for that to become a realistic possibility. For better or worse, it doesn’t appear that their roster will undergo any significant changes in the meantime.