After a rough start to this season, the Cincinnati Bengals may be getting their grove back. They have won three games in a row, and their last two victories have come against playoff-bound teams in the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers.
In their 31-17 win over the Niners on Sunday, the Bengals got an outstanding performance from quarterback Joe Burrow, who completed 28 of 32 pass attempts for 283 yards and three touchdown passes. Star wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase had 10 catches for 100 yards and a touchdown, while Tee Higgins added five receptions for 69 yards.
However, Higgins hasn’t played well this season, and he has just 218 yards through six games. In addition, none of Cincinnati’s tight ends have as many as 60 receiving yards on the season.
Thus, Aaron Becker of YardBarker suggested the team trade for tight end Hayden Hurst, who is currently with the struggling Carolina Panthers.
“Cincinnati should call the Panthers, who have the NFL’s worst record (0-6), to inquire about veteran TE Hayden Hurst,” wrote Becker prior to Week 8’s slate of games. “Hurst played for the Bengals in 2022, posting 52 catches for 414 yards and two touchdowns.
“However, the two sides parted ways in the offseason when Carolina offered Hurst a three-year, $21.75M contract.”
Hurst has 14 catches for 116 yards and one touchdown so far this season. He had no receptions in Sunday’s win over the Houston Texans, and since the Panthers have nothing to play for, perhaps they could be persuaded to part with him.
Cincinnati is a relatively young team, but its window to win its first-ever Super Bowl championship could be right now. The team has committed lots of money, $275 million over five years to be exact, to a contract extension it recently gave Burrow, and Chase will soon be up for his extension, which means it may not be able to afford to keep Higgins.
If it has to jettison Higgins in order to keep Chase, it may be taken down a peg moving forward.
The Bengals have reached the AFC Championship Game in both of the last two seasons, and it narrowly lost Super Bowl LVI to the Los Angeles Rams less than 21 months ago. It was the third time in as many tries the franchise had lost in the Super Bowl, and all three losses came to teams from California.
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