Instant Reaction: Cincinnati Bengals Don't Address Defense Ahead of Trade Deadline
Meanwhile, Cincinnati's defense is 26th in the NFL in sacks and that's after Trey Hendrickson had a career-high four sacks in Week 9 against the Raiders.
Za'Darius Smith and Preston Smith were two pass rushers that were traded on Tuesday, but the Bengals didn't address their defense. Azeez Ojulari was a perfect fit on paper, but the Giants reportedly had a high asking price and were comfortable keeping the 24-year-old. Arden Key was another potential trade target, but the Titans held onto him too.
That means the Bengals are banking on Myles Murphy to take a big step forward. They picked him with the No. 28 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. He's off to a slow start this year, partially because of a training camp knee injury that sidelined him for the first four games of the season. The Bengals desperately need Murphy, Kris Jenkins and McKinnley Jackson to all take a significant step forward in the second half of the year if they're going to make a playoff run.James Rapien is the publisher of Bengals On SI. He's also the host of the Locked on Bengals podcast and Cincinnati Bengals Talk on YouTube. The Cincinnati native also wrote a book about the history of the Cincinnati Bengals called Enter The Jungle.
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