One of the big reasons the Cincinnati Bengals would probably be smarter trading for a Tony Pollard rather than a Saquon Barkley or Jonathan Taylor is pretty simple:
Cost.
That’s showing up big now that the NFL trade rumors around Taylor keep heating up.
According to The Ringer’s Tom Pelissero, the Colts have already turned down a Taylor trade offer that included multiple draft picks, topped off by a second-rounder.
Almost fittingly, then, ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Ian Rapoport reported that several teams are in the running for Taylor:
- Denver Broncos
- Green Bay Packers
- Minnesota Vikings
- New York Giants
- Seattle Seahawks
Barring a shocker, the Bengals won’t be in on Taylor, then. They surprised with the Dexter Lawrence trade, yes, but the value proposition between positional importance, long-term value and cost needs to make sense. There's
a world of difference between a rare nose tackle who reshapes an entire defesnive unit and a running back.
Is the value there with Taylor? He’s an elite back in his prime, but also on a two-year extension worth $44 million and there’s currently a bidding war amongst contenders that will keep driving up the trade price.
This is, again, why someone like Pollard makes a lot more sense. While other teams fight for Taylor and perhaps Barkley, the Bengals could sacrifice a lot less for a veteran who could have a similar impact in the offense.
And again, the fact this keeps coming up isn’t unwarranted given the poor depth at running back and the underwhelming start to the season for Chase Brown this year.
This article originally appeared on Bengals Wire: NFL trade rumors might end Bengals, Jonathan Taylor idea
