The Cincinnati Bengals aren’t likely to be buyers at the NFL trade deadline for all the obvious reasons that come with such a statement each year.
But breaking out of the normal routine to help defensive end Trey Hendrickson would be a smart move.
The general eye test has said Hendrickson could use some help for years. But some interesting numbers this season make it perhaps clearer than ever, as explained by Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com:
“Hendrickson has an interesting matchup Sunday. According to Next Gen Stas, he has 31.8% of the Bengals’ pressures this season, the highest pressure share among NFL pass rushers.”
Hendrickson is up to five sacks over six games this year already and played 64 percent of the snaps (264). He’s hovering in his typical range in this regard, but as fans know, he’s also the guy who has consistently had to fight through injuries like nagging back issues over the years.
If the Bengals are serious about keeping Hendrickson healthy and actually having another pass-rusher who can hit home in the rotation, the trade deadline is probably the only move now.
There was hope that the return of Myles Murphy could help in this regard, but the results haven’t been there yet and simply standing around and hoping that happens is a recipe for Hendrickson to deal with over usage and injury while the defense as a whole suffers. The team can’t reliably get Joseph Ossai on the field because offenses will just run right at him.
What’s frustrating from an outsider’s perspective is that the Bengals have done the exact opposite this year. They lost one promising upside pass-rusher off the practice squad earlier this month, then just let another get stolen last week.
Given how obvious the entire defense has been on only Hendrickson hitting home, one would think a pass rusher would top the team’s trade deadline shopping list — even if it’s a value, low-risk move on a guy who can join the rotation right away.
If the Bengals keep winning and turning things around, maybe a B.J. Hill-like deal comes together.
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