Bengals Are Not Interested In Trading For Giants Defensive End Osi Umenyiora

According to Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News, five teams are interested in New York Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora; and one of those teams is not the Cincinnati Bengals. The teams with expressed interest includes the St. Louis Rams, the San Diego Chargers, the Seattle Seahawks, the Denver Broncos and the Baltimore Ravens. The price to acquire Umenyiora is at least a first round pick -- or a second-round pick and an extra pick if a first round demand falls flat. But as Vacchiano points out, the first round pick might be impossible.

Teams aren’t likely to give up first-round picks anymore, especially now that the rookie salary cap makes those picks much more affordable. To give up a pick that valuable and pay a 29-year-old defensive end with some recent injury issues a contract worth $10 million per year is probably for too much for most teams to stomach.

The only reason we bring this up is because we got wind that an NFL Network story may have suggested that the Bengals were interested in trading for Umenyiora. We never found confirmation on the story so we decided not to run with it. Now you can put the idea to bed completely; most of us already have anyway.

The Bengals have a good foundation of defensive ends with Carlos Dunlap and Michael Johnson. However with the release of Antwan Odom, the position has some depth issues after you factor in Robert Geathers and Frostee Rucker. The team is still talking with defensive lineman Jonathan Fanene.