Sportsnaut
Some unexpected Cincinnati Bengals injury news before their game in Week 9 is more proof they need to stop fooling around and embrace taking bids on star pass rusher Trey Hendrickson right now.
After greybeard Joe Flacco led Cincy to a big upset win against the Pittsburgh Steelers two weeks ago, there was real hope heading into Week 8 that the Bengals could actually hold the line and stay in playoff contention until Joe Burrow returned in December. Then those hopes were seemingly dashed over the weekend.
On Sunday, the Bengals had as winnable a game as they would get all season when they welcomed the winless New York Jets to town. Heading into the fourth, everything seemed to be going to plan when they led 31-16. Fifteen minutes later, they were on the wrong side of a shocking 39-38 loss. If their playoff hopes weren’t dead yet, it was pretty close.
Well, they took another half step closer to missing the playoffs on Wednesday after some stunning news. “Bengals QB Joe Flacco is dealing with an AC joint sprain in his throwing shoulder, and his status is up in the air for Sunday versus the Bears,” sources say.” NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports.
There was always a risk in the Bengals relying on a 40-year-old journeyman quarterback to try and save their season. And this is pretty much why. Even if he can play on Sunday, he will be hampered. NFL fans have seen in recent weeks what a bum shoulder can do to a player’s performance as Carson Wentz struggled through issues in the joint during recent Minnesota Vikings losses.
Flacco should be rested, but that means going back to Jake Browning. A player who was so bad that taking the failed QB of an even worse team, the Cleveland Browns, was deemed as an upgrade. And management was right. A likely loss this weekend will drop Cincy to 3-6 and effectively put a stamp on a lost season.
That is why the Bengals front office must come to terms with the reality of their situation and start thinking big picture. And that means moving whatever impact veterans that they can to free up future cap space, and/or get some worthwhile draft assets. That should start with Trey Hendrickson.
Let’s be real, the four-time Pro Bowler is not re-signing with Cincinnati in the offseason after failed talks in the spring. So why lose him for nothing when you can get something from desperate teams now? The San Francisco 49ers, Los Angeles Rams, and especially the Dallas Cowboys are all in the market for a stud pass rusher. Let them get into a bidding war for Hendrickson, and potentially get another second-round pick for April that they would not have had otherwise.
The writing is on the wall for the Bengals....
