The Bengals have made progress at linebacker this season, but the problems haven’t disappeared. Barrett Carter and Demetrius Knight Jr. have both taken steps forward, yet missed tackles keep showing up in the film. Through six games, the two have combined for 14 missed tackles, a number that keeps linebacker on the list of concerns for Cincinnati’s defense.
That’s why Daiyan Henley has emerged as a clean trade fit. The Athletic has identified the Chargers linebacker as a possible deadline target for the Bengals, and the appeal is easy to see.
Henley has already shown he can produce at a high level, and his numbers suggest a player who is still on the rise. In 2024, he posted 147 tackles, an 8.7% missed-tackle rate, one interception and eight passes defended, while allowing a 99.1 passer rating.
His 2025 season began slowly because of severe illness, but he still finished with 103 tackles, only five missed tackles, two interceptions and five passes defended. Then in 2026, his play started unevenly before settling in from Week 3 onward.
At 27, he has continued to display the kind of traits that point to upward movement, and he has missed just two tackles this season. That alone stands out next to the 14 combined misses from Carter and Knight.
The timing could work for Cincinnati, too. Henley is in the final year of his rookie contract, and the Chargers have badly underperformed this season.
That combination could bring his price down. The source material suggests a deal might only require a fifth-round pick, and the Bengals might even be able to keep that pick by sending Shemar Stewart back in the trade.
There’s also a rough idea of what an extension might look like if Henley reaches his ceiling. The comparison here is to the deals Zach Baun and Azeez Al-Shaair got, which came in around $17 million to $18 million per year.
If Cincinnati landed Henley, the payoff would be clear: at the very least, a starting-level linebacker with real upside to become more than that.
If the Bengals decide Henley is too rich or too complicated, there are other names in the mix. Titans linebacker Cody Barton offers a steadier, lower-cost option.
He has spent eight years in the league, missed no more than seven tackles since 2019, and will turn 30 in November. He also brings coverage ability, and his 4.2% career missed-tackle rate suggests he can finish plays when ball carriers are in front of him.
Another possibility is Chargers linebacker Troy Dye. He has typically been a dependable backup and has special-teams value as well.
He could help fill the role left by veteran Swayze Bozeman, who is on Injured Reserve with a fractured forearm. At 30, Dye would likely be a better fit for that job than Jack Kiser, whom the Bengals claimed off waivers after Bozeman’s injury.
Barton or Dye would cost less than Henley, and either could be a more practical add depending on what Cincinnati wants from its linebacker room.
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Jessie Bates Just Reopened A Painful Bengals What-If
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Bryan Cook was brought in to help stabilize that spot, but the larger issue remains the same: the Bengals have not found a clean replacement for what Bates brought. And while the move made sense in the moment from a cap-management standpoint, it has only sharpened the sense that this was one of those franchise crossroads that can be revisited for years. [Read more 🡒]