Bengals encouraged to trade with rival for former 1st-round pick

The Cincinnati Bengals have started to emerge nationally as a team that could be a buyer in free agency and through trade this offseason.

And it makes sense. Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin admitted the roster wasn’t good enough. They have plenty of cap space and no major contract extension drama distracting them.

One idea? Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine says one of the players the Bengals should look at is former Kansas City Chiefs first-round pick, cornerback Trent McDuffie:

“Of course, the Bengals have struggled to find reliable corners recently. The Chiefs are in a tough cap spot and Trent McDuffie is a prime candidate to be traded. He’s going to be the top candidate for a lot of teams who need cornerback help.”

After throwing out five strong seasons and finishing 2025 as the 11th graded cornerback out of 114 at Pro Football Focus, McDuffie could be one of the better players possibly available.

Luckily for the Bengals, McDuffie is a longshot that isn’t necessarily a need. The franchise finally found a breakout hit with DJ Turner’s emergence this year. Dax Hill, when healthy, has been a solid boundary presence and obviously No. 2.

The Bengals will need a candidate or two to be the long-term slot guy. But they will also likely be thinking about how much money on major extensions they might invest already with Hill and Turner.

This offseason, at least, the Bengals might be more prone to heavily spend on the front seven, like those offseasons of recent years when they found Trey Hendrickson and DJ Reader.

This article originally appeared on Bengals Wire: Bengals encouraged to trade with rival for former 1st-round pick

Bengals encouraged to trade with rival for former 1st-round pick

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