When the Cincinnati Bengals defense had their first third down of the game against Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens offense, Bengals cornerback Tre Flowers made his debut with the team.
The Bengals claimed Flowers on October 14, but he didn’t play a snap until Sunday's game against the Ravens. When Flowers entered the game, he matched up one-on-one with Ravens Pro Bowl tight end Mark Andrews. Flowers played 14 snaps in Baltimore, and he won his matchup with Andrews to help the Bengals get the win.
Before the NFL Trade Deadline on November 2, the Bengals will have more opportunities to add to the team. The Bengals front office will have a chance to bring in role players like Flowers who can make an impact as the Bengals make a run toward the playoffs.
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On the interior offensive line and at edge rusher, the Bengals could use another depth piece. The Bengals punt return group has been one of the team’s biggest weaknesses this season, and trading for a punt returner could provide an immediate spark on special teams.
It’d be an uncharacteristic move since the Bengals have never been buyers at the trade deadline. But the Bengals could find a player like Flowers who can help the team win over the last two months of the season.
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Here are the Bengals three biggest needs and a few players who could be a fit.
1. Punt returner
The Bengals haven’t been consistent at punt returner all season with Darius Phillips and Trenton Irwin splitting reps. Phillips was briefly benched in Week 6, and he ranks 15th out of 18 qualifying punt returners with just 7.2 yards per return. The Bengals have mostly used Irwin on returns inside their 20-yard line.
With the Bengals defense consistently getting stops early in drives, Cincinnati could benefit from an explosive punt returner more than almost any other team. And a team heading towards a top-10 draft pick doesn’t have the same need for a punt returner as the Bengals.
Denver Broncos punt returner Diontae Spencer ranks fourth in the NFL with 10.3 yards per return. He has been the Broncos punt returner since 2019, and last year he averaged 15.8 yards per return. Before he played in the NFL, Spencer was a wide receiver and a track athlete at McNeese State, and he was a two-time All-Star in the Canadian Football League.
Spencer's balance, elusiveness and quick twitch athleticism made him a near-lock to make the Broncos 2021 roster all offseason. He demonstrated his upside with an 83-yard touchdown run last year, but he still would have averaged 11.3 yards per return without that outlier in 2020.
Spencer has had success ducking under blocks and cutting between defenders, and also been a contributor in other areas on special teams for his entire NFL career.
Around the rest of the NFL, Washington Football Team returner DeAndre Carter and New York Jets returner Braxton Berrios also have a track record as effective punt returners.
2. Interior offensive line
With three backup offensive guards on the injured reserve, rookie center Trey Hill and third-year tackle Fred Johnson are the Bengals' only options on the bench on the interior offensive line.
Kansas City Chiefs center Austin Blythe and Atlanta Falcons guard Josh Andrews both lost their starting spots to rookies this season, but they could improve the Bengals depth.
Before this season, Blythe had started every game he had played since 2018. He was the starting right guard for the Los Angeles Rams in the 2018 Super Bowl when current Bengals head coach Zac Taylor was an assistant in Los Angeles. In 2020, Blythe became the Rams center and started all 16 games.
Andrews, a six-year veteran, was coached by current Bengals offensive line coach Frank Pollack when they both were with the New York Jets last season. He has only started four games over the last two seasons, but knows Pollack’s scheme and has been a guard and center in the NFL.
3. Edge rusher
The Bengals have needed rookie Cam Sample and waiver claim Wyatt Ray to play bigger roles at defensive end than anticipated at the start of the season. There isn’t expected to be a large group of edge rushers on the trade market, but Clelin Ferrell of the Las Vegas Raiders fits the Bengals scheme.
Ferrell, the No. 4 pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, has fallen out of the Raiders starting lineup and played just 22% of the team’s defensive snaps this season. Ferrell has the athleticism and explosiveness the Bengals look for in edge rushers, and Bengals defensive line coach Marion Hobby was Ferrell’s position coach at Clemson.
Why the Bengals wouldn’t make a deal at the trade deadline
Any deadline trade would be an unprecedented move for Bengals president Mike Brown and the current front office.
According to the NFL transactions database, the Bengals have only made two mid-season trades since Brown became the team’s general manager in 1991. Neither trade was done to improve the team.
In 2020, the Bengals traded defensive end Carlos Dunlap, who was frustrated with his role on the team. In return, the Bengals received a 7th round pick and center B.J. Finney. Since the Seahawks were close to the spending cap, they needed to include Finney in the deal, and Finney didn’t play a single offensive snap for the Bengals.
The only other midseason trade the Bengals have made during Brown’s tenure was when the team dealt quarterback Carson Palmer in 2011. Palmer wasn’t playing for the Bengals, and Cincinnati traded its former quarterback for two draft picks.
The Bengals also have players returning from injury at two of the positions where they’d be most likely to add.
One of the Bengals biggest weaknesses on the roster is the depth on the interior offensive line. Hakeem Adeniji, who was projected to be the team’s first offensive linemen off the bench before the start of the season, is on the verge of returning from a pectoral injury that occurred during OTAs.
Adeniji can play both guard and tackle, and he solidified a role on the 2021 roster when he made five starts last season.
Xavier Su’a-Filo, the Bengals Week 1 starter at right guard, is continuing to rehab from a knee injury. He’s also expected to return this season, and he’ll likely be active when he’s fully healthy.
At edge rusher, Khalid Kareem could return this week from a shoulder injury. Kareem has missed the entire season so far, but he was one of the Bengals preseason standouts. While Kareem only had one sack during his 2020 rookie season, he’ll likely take some of Sample and Ray’s snaps at defensive end.
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