The Bengals are out of the bye week at 3-2, and while that record still leaves them last in the AFC North, the door to the division is far from shut. Everyone else in the division is sitting at 4-2, which keeps Cincinnati in the thick of things. And with a trade deadline approaching in a year full of ugly starts around the league, the question becomes simple: could the Bengals make another move to help push this season forward?
It would not be the standard Bengals answer. Most years, the idea of going shopping in-season would be a hard no.
But after the addition of Dexter Lawrence via trade for the 10th overall selection, it is at least possible to imagine Cincinnati being aggressive again. So with several teams already buried near the bottom of the standings, here are a few names and situations that could line up with what the Bengals need.
The Washington Commanders, at 1-4-1, are one of the clubs that invested heavily in free agency and have not gotten the return they wanted. Tight end Chig Okonkwo is one of those additions, and he just posted his best game of the year on Monday Night Football, catching 6 passes for 69 yards in the Week 6 loss. Cincinnati could use another pass-catching tight end with Tanner Hudson now on IR.
Still, the fit is shaky. Okonkwo is under contract for two more seasons after this one, and the Bengals already have Jack Endries sitting on the 53-man roster. Outside of Okonkwo, there really is not much on Washington’s roster that jumps out as a likely fit for Cincinnati.
Tennessee, now 1-5, feels more like a team headed toward draft-position conversations than a playoff chase. But the Titans do have a player who fits the Bengals’ profile: linebacker Cedric Gray. He has been pushed out of a full-time starting role after rookie Anthony Hill Jr. arrived from Texas, even though Gray finished the 2025 season fourth in the league in total tackles with 164 and posted a 92.7 run defense grade last season.
For Cincinnati, the appeal is obvious. The Bengals’ young linebackers are getting better, but adding another body who can take snaps from Oren Burks would help, and it would give them a stronger insurance policy behind the current starters. Gray is still on his rookie contract, has already shown he can play, and that is the kind of low-risk buy that makes sense.
There is also safety Amani Hooker, who would solve a football problem in a different spot. Jordan Battle has struggled, and Kyle Dugger has been injured.
Hooker has logged more than 5,000 career snaps, owns an 88.5 run defense grade this season, and has picked off 2 passes. The obstacle is timing: he just signed a 3-year extension in Tennessee, so he may not be realistic.
Tampa Bay, sitting at 1-5 after blowing a 16-3 second-half lead against the Steelers, could also be a team that unloads pieces if it decides to look ahead. The dream name is Bucky Irving, one of the league’s most elusive runners, but he is on his rookie deal through next season, so that one does not feel real.
Kenny Gainwell, though, is a different story. He had some strong outings against the Bengals last season when he was with Pittsburgh, and his production this year has been light: 61 rushing yards and 61 receiving yards.
Last season with Pittsburgh, he ran for 537 yards and added 486 more through the air. He is under contract for next year at a $7 million salary and could be cut with a $3 million dead cap hit before then.
Whether Cincinnati would actually bite is unclear, but he looks like a player who could be available.
Miami is at 0-5 and clearly operating in rebuild mode. The Dolphins have already added a lot of young talent through the 2026 NFL Draft, and they are likely to keep collecting more draft capital by moving veterans. The issue for Cincinnati is that the names that might become available do not line up neatly with the roster’s needs.
Josh Uche and Zach Sieler could be on the table along the defensive line, but that is not where the Bengals are short. In fact, that group is crowded enough that some young players are already struggling to get enough snaps. Jordyn Brooks would have been a strong target, but Miami gave him another extension this year and plans to build around him and rookie Jacob Rodriguez.
Then there is the Chargers, who are somehow 0-6. The easy names to toss around are Omarion Hampton, Derwin James, and Khalil Mack, but none of them feel like practical Cincinnati targets. Hampton is only in his second season, James comes with a huge contract and a long injury history, and Mack is both expensive and at a spot the Bengals do not really need help at.
The one Charger who makes real sense is cornerback Cam Hart. He played for Al Golden at Notre Dame, is 6-foot-2 and 207 pounds, and is putting together a career year with a 73.8 coverage grade.
He is only 25 and has 2 interceptions already this season. With Los Angeles at 0-6, that is the player Cincinnati should be calling about.
Hart would fit cleanly into the secondary. He would let Dax Hill remain in the slot for the rest of the year, while Hart would line up on the outside opposite DJ Turner.
That trio could be one of the league’s best. And with Cincinnati’s defensive line already in place, strengthening the back end would give the Bengals a better chance to survive a long playoff run.
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The timing fits the reality of this point in the season, when every practice-squad move can matter a little more than usual. Cincinnati has been working through personnel issues while getting ready for a Ravens matchup that carries real weight, and the roster activity suggests the staff is still sorting out how best to patch together the backup layers behind the main lineup. [Read more 🡒]