The Cincinnati Bengals aren’t a team that sells at the deadline pretty much ever.
In fact, the last time the Bengals got rid of a player at the deadline, it was after things got toxic in the building around Carlos Dunlap and the team shipped him out.
Still, it’s fun to speculate about deals the Bengals could make. And from a national perspective, that includes having them act as logical sellers.
Case in point, CBS Sports’ Cody Benjamin suggesting the Bengals send Trey Hendrickson to the Detroit Lions:
The three-time Pro Bowler is a sack machine for an otherwise struggling Cincinnati Bengals defense, and yet he flirted with a trade request this offseason. Joe Burrow and Co. still have playoff aspirations at 3-5, but with guys like Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins still without long-term deals, it might be time to sell high. The Detroit Lions may well be buyers. They look like the class of the NFC, but their defensive front could use added reinforcements with star edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson sidelined.
The Bengals won’t trade Hendrickson, of course, seeing as he’s their only viable pass-rusher. But it comes up because he demanded a trade this past offseason roughly one year after signing an extension.
Two things are true — Hendrickson would cost another team a ton to acquire and indeed, that contract spat is going to come up against next offseason.
The Bengals won’t move Hendrickson because of those things, but it’s worth speculating about. Were it a team other than the Bengals, who knows?
