The Bengals are staring at a thin receiver room, and the fix probably isn’t flashy. With only two healthy wide receivers on the 2026 roster, Cincinnati appears to need another free-agent pickup this week just to keep the back end of the group steady enough to survive another Sunday. Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins may both miss the same Bengals game for the first time in their careers, and the team can’t lean on Mike Gesicki as an outside option the way it did last week.
The market isn’t exactly overflowing with difference-makers. Outside of Tyreek Hill, the top names available are limited, and Cincinnati’s need is more about getting through this stretch than finding a long-term answer. The injuries to the four players currently banged up are not expected to be long term, which makes a short-term stopgap the most sensible play.
One name that fits that mold is Amari Cooper. The 30-year-old veteran is still looking for a landing spot after the Raiders released him in August.
He’s played in only 15 games over the last two seasons, but the Bengals don’t need a player built for the long haul right now. Cooper’s 6-2, 215-pound frame and his 13.4 yards per catch for his career give him a chance to lighten the load on Dohnte Meyers in the coming weeks.
He also posted Pro Football Focus grades of 70.7 and 73 in 2024 and 2023, though last season was a rough one in terms of availability, with just 102 snaps played.
There’s also Gabe Davis, a former Bills standout whose recent stretch has been uneven. He appeared in six games last season and managed only a 61.2 PFF grade on 263 snaps. Still, the upside is easy to see: Davis has averaged 15.9 yards per catch and has 30 career touchdowns at 27 years old.
Then there’s Allen Lazard, a longtime Jets receiver with more than 5,000 NFL snaps on his résumé since entering the league in 2017. His career has been steady more than spectacular, with no full season grading above 70.1 or below 58.4 on PFF. At 31, he looks like the kind of plug-and-play option who could learn the Bengals offense quickly and handle spot duty over the next few weeks.
Beyond that group, the best wideouts are already spoken for on NFL rosters. Cincinnati doesn’t need to chase a panic trade, give up future assets, or spend big for a name like Hill, especially if his role isn’t even certain a month from now. The Bengals just need a quick fix, and one of these veterans could be exactly that.
In Other News...
Rex Ryan Just Sparked A New Bengals Debate Around Joe Burrow
The Bengals have been leaning on Joe Burrow and the passing game to carry the offense, and early in the season the running game has not done much to ease that load. It is the kind of imbalance that can work when the quarterback is humming, but it also puts extra pressure on the passing attack to stay sharp every week.
Rex Ryan recently put that familiar issue back in the spotlight, warning that a team built almost entirely around the pass can run into trouble if it never finds a steadier ground game. For Cincinnati, the concern is not whether Burrow can produce, but whether opponents will start selling out against the pass and force the Bengals to answer with a rushing attack that has not yet shown enough consistency. [Read more 🡒]
Bengals Suddenly Have A Receiver Debate Fans Cant Ignore
The Bengals receiver room has suddenly become a talking point again, and not in the way they would prefer. With Tee Higgins and JaMarr Chase both dealing with injuries, Cincinnati is staring at a familiar problem at the exact moment the offense can least afford it, which is why the idea of adding another wideout has started circulating around the team.
Marvin Harrison Jr. is the name getting the most attention in that conversation, thanks to his talent and the kind of fit he would represent in Cincinnatis passing game. It is still only speculation, but the discussion says plenty about where the Bengals are right now: thin at receiver, under pressure to keep the offense afloat, and suddenly in the middle of a debate fans did not see coming. [Read more 🡒]
Former Bengals Star Sounds Alarm On A Problem Burrow Can't Escape
Through the first five weeks, the Bengals offense has been under a familiar kind of stress, and former receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh says the pressure is coming from a spot Cincinnati cannot afford to ignore. He pointed to opponents working the left side of the offensive line to get after Joe Burrow, a problem that has helped disrupt the rhythm of an attack that is still trying to find its footing.
Houshmandzadeh also flagged trouble covering tight ends and noted Burrows two interceptions as costly plays in a season where every mistake seems to carry extra weight. With Miami and Baltimore next on the schedule, the Bengals are staring at a stretch that will test whether those issues can be cleaned up quickly or whether they keep following Burrow from week to week. [Read more 🡒]