The Bengals’ decision to move on from Trey Hendrickson looks better by the week, and Thursday night in Baltimore only sharpened the picture.
With Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley both unavailable, the Ravens turned to Joe Fagnano to open Week 9 against the Jaguars and got a 33-10 loss for their trouble. Hendrickson, meanwhile, was invisible.
He finished with zero pressures and played only 16 pass-rush snaps. Baltimore is now stuck in a strange spot, with Jackson’s future uncertain and a four-year, $112 million commitment to Hendrickson running through 2029.
That outcome lands differently in Cincinnati, where the Bengals chose to build their defensive line around Dexter Lawrence instead of Hendrickson this offseason. It was a move that looked bold at the time and now looks even stronger. The Bengals’ defense has gotten a real boost from that pivot, with Boye Mafe stepping in and “Sexy Dexy” making an impact.
The Hendrickson situation has also become the kind of mess nobody wants to own. FanSided’s Jason La Canfora summed up the Ravens’ gamble this way:
"When the #Ravens did Maxx Crosby dirty and pulled out of that trade, they proclaimed Trey Hendrickson their $30M/yr "closer." How's that working out for them? At best their found an opener in an already lost season https://t.co/Inr3gysVLN"
Another former Bengal is creating a different kind of headache for Cincinnati. Jessie Bates is set to face the Bengals in Madrid with the Falcons, and he arrives as PFF’s No. 4-rated safety. He has been exactly what Cincinnati lost when he left in free agency after the 2022 season.
The Bengals received McKinnley Jackson as the comp pick from that departure, and Jackson didn’t make it past final roster cuts this year. Bates, though, has continued to look like the kind of player Cincinnati still misses - smart, steady, and loaded with range. He has also said publicly that he wonders what might have happened if he had stayed.
Zac Taylor offered praise for Bates ahead of the matchup, a much different tone than the one he used with Hendrickson two weeks earlier.
On the Bengals’ current roster, the safety play remains uneven. Jordan Battle has been up and down, and free-agent addition Bryan Cook has been inconsistent. There’s also the sense that Cook may be playing through a nagging ankle injury and just trying to get by.
Cincinnati did eventually have to pay Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, but Bates still might have fit if the team had been willing to get creative with the cap. That chance passed. Maybe it comes back around if Bates reaches the open market this offseason.
There’s one more former Bengal worth noting, even if the bigger story in Indianapolis is the Colts’ collapse. Akeem Davis-Gaither has been quietly solid under Lou Anarumo, and he would be the best linebacker in Cincinnati right now over Barrett Carter, Demetrius Knight Jr. and anyone else Al Golden has tried there.
Davis-Gaither’s numbers back it up. He has missed only 6.9% of his tackle attempts, is tied for 11th among linebackers with 25 stops by PFF’s count, and has allowed a sub-100 passer rating in coverage. For a Bengals team still searching for answers at linebacker, that’s a tough one to ignore.
In Other News...
Bengals Suddenly Face A Trade Deadline Question About Fixing The Offense
The Bengals offense has become a trade-deadline talking point, and the latest buzz is less about a bargain fix than a splashy one. An analysts deadline predictions have put a premium name into the conversation, with the idea carrying enough intrigue to make sense on paper even if it would take some financial maneuvering to pull off.
Any move of that size would force Cincinnati to weigh cap implications against how it wants to build its offense for the stretch run. The notion has drawn extra attention because the same analyst was right on a previous trade call, but for now it remains exactly what it sounds like: a speculative answer to a very real question about how the Bengals might try to sharpen their attack. [Read more 🡒]
Ja'Marr Chase Addresses Bengals Tension Fans Couldn't Ignore
Ja'Marr Chase spent part of a recent game looking every bit the star receiver who expects more from the offense, and he did not try to hide that his frustration showed. After the moment drew attention, he addressed it directly and said he had already spoken with head coach Zac Taylor, while stressing that he wants the best for everyone around him and does not see the episode as a sign of deeper trouble.
For the Bengals, that matters because Chase still delivered a strong performance against Tennessee even while the sideline body language suggested a player bristling in the heat of the moment. The production was there, the emotion was obvious, and now the focus shifts to whether the conversation inside the building keeps the same edge from spilling over again. [Read more 🡒]
Bengals Linked To Veteran Move Their Defense May Still Need
With the NFL trade deadline set for Nov. 10, the Bengals are being sized up as a team that could still use help in the secondary if they want to keep pace in a crowded race. One speculative scenario has Cincinnati looking to add a veteran cornerback on an expiring contract, the kind of move that would fit a club trying to improve without paying a heavy price.
The appeal is obvious: the defender in question has a track record of creating turnovers and would give the Bengals another experienced option on the back end. For a team that still has room to sharpen its defense, the idea is less about a splash and more about finding a short-term upgrade that could matter in November and beyond. [Read more 🡒]