Bengals avoid waiver wire in Week 13 despite obvious needs

The Bengals avoided adding an upgrade on the waiver wire.

Needing to essentially win each of their next six games to have a chance at the playoffs, the Cincinnati Bengals passed up on waiver wire help in Week 13.

There, the team could have put in a claim on Carolina Panthers edge rusher Charles Harris, owner of 19.5 sacks. Instead, Harris went to the Philadelphia Eagles, a team that was lower on the waiver wire order than Cincinnati.

It’s surprising to see the Bengals say no thanks to help right now. Granted, long-term fans will say it isn’t really all that shocking — and who could blame them?

Still, Harris has more sacks (3) this season than any player on the Bengals roster not named Trey Hendrickson. Joseph Ossai has seen a small uptick play, Sam Hubbard is playing through a season-long injury and former first-rounder Myles Murphy just can’t seem to break onto the field.

Rather than add some new help to the mix, the Bengals stood still. They added a back-of-depth chart wideout on the waiver wire in early November and a cornerback last month,

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