The Bengals pulled off the win this Sunday 37-34 against the Buccaneers, but it came at great cost.
Carl Lawson tore his ACL early in the game and is now done for the season. This puts the Bengals in a tough spot. The depth behind Lawson isn’t exactly strong, and with the trade deadline coming right as the team enter their bye week, the Bengals should look to add another pass-rusher before Tuesday’s 4 p.m. ET trade deadline. They simply can’t rely on Michael Johnson and Jordan Willis to make up for the loss of Lawson, as those two have combined for a whopping 0.5 sacks this year. The Bengals’ defensive tackle depth is hurting, too as Sam Hubbard has even had to play there following Ryan Glasgow tearing his ACL and winding up on IR.
Here are a few interesting possibilities for players the Bengals could look to trade for before Tuesday night:
Cameron Wake
Wake has one sack this season, but had over 10 in each of the last two seasons. A change of venue and being on the same line as Carlos Dunlap and Geno Atkins could revitalize the 36 year-old. Wake could be the perfect rental. He is in the last season of his contract and is making a little over $9,000,000.
Jerry Hughes
It would make sense for the Bengals to look to the Bills when needing a replacement for an injured player. Multiple players have gone from the Bills to the Bengals and vice versa in the past year. The Bengals seem to get the better players in all of these transactions making Buffalo essentially a minor league affiliate of the Bengals at this point.
Hughes is one of the best players on a bad Bills team. He is having a good season with 4.5 sacks so far, but the Bengals being as far as they are away may be willing to part ways with him. Hughes is making reasonable $7,500,000 a year and is signed through 2019.
Bruce Irvin
It’s true that Jon Gruden already traded his best pass-rusher and commented about them needing to get a better pass rush shortly after that. But Gruden seems to be selling everything, so why not Irvin? The former first-round pick is a solid pass rusher who has 3 sacks so far this year and has 7 and 8 sacks each of the last two seasons. Irvin is making $8,250,000 this season and is due a raise in 2019, but he can be cut without a cap hit after June 1st. Irvin is 30 and should have a few more seasons in him as a rotational piece.
Jadeveon Clowney
Seems crazy, right? Well it is, but teams have made call inquiring about Clowney. Much like Lawson, he is a bit of a “tweener” and plays linebacker for the Texans. Clowney is a well-known pass rusher who will demand attention from opposing offenses. He is currently set to become a free agent at the end of the season and is making a whopping $12,300,000. Clowney has 4.5 sacks so far this season and had 9.5 last season. This would be a much bigger splash than the Bengals tend to make in anything, but hey, dream big right?
Who would you like to see the Bengals trade for? Let us know in the comments section!