The Cincinnati Bengals nearly made a move similar to one they had made the past two seasons. They had a trade in place to send a sixth-rounder to the Philadelphia Eagles to acquire defensive end Arnold Ebiketie.
The issue was that the move would have canceled out the third-round compensatory pick the Bengals are set to receive for Trey Hendrickson signing with the Baltimore Ravens.
So the trade would have cost Cincinnati a sixth-round pick and a potential third-round pick for a rotational defensive
end to replace Cashius Howell.
Needless to say, Bengals fans were embarrassed and frustrated.
That is a fair reaction. That feeling of your team doing something to make themselves better as we approach the end of November is euphoric sometimes. Even if it is just sending a sixth-round pick away. That is a lot for the Bengals.
What makes all of this even worse is watching all the other top AFC teams get better at the deadline.
There are certainly worse positions to be in. It is unfortunate that it seems several bets on young defenders are not paying off, and the refusal to put together a contingency plan in the offseason or correct it now is just frustrating.
The only bright side is they went the route of not looking incompetent and losing a pick that could be valuable next offseason.
It would probably have been better if Cincinnati hadn’t made any move than attempting one and then having to pull the offer.
It could be worse. At least we can still watch Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins go to work.
