Bengals were ‘latecomer’ to Maxx Crosby trade sweepstakes, per report

The Cincinnati Bengals showing interest in a trade for Maxx Crosby wasn’t just a fan dream after all.

As it turns out, the Bengals at least sniffed around the idea before backing out.

According to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, the Bengals were a “latecomer” to the conversations:

Advertisement

“The Bengals, on the verge of losing Trey Hendrickson in free agency, were another latecomer to the party. By then, over a quarter of the league’s 32 teams had shown some level of interest in Crosby, with a few others that he had less interest in going to throwing their hats in the ring as well.”

This could’ve been as simple as the Bengals asking about the price before backing out, a simple matter of due diligence.

Crosby, one of the NFL’s best pass-rushers and still under 30 years old, instead got shipped to the Baltimore Ravens in exchange for two first-round picks.

The Bengals will lose Trey Hendrickson and perhaps Joseph Ossai in free agency. But they already have first-round investments in Shemar Stewart and Myles Murphy on the edge.

Advertisement

Even if they didn’t, it’s hard to imagine the Bengals strongly considered giving up two first-round picks and paying a massive contract to Crosby. One of the stated reasons for not paying a $30.2 million franchise tag to Hendrickson (although there are many) was the need to spread that money across the entire defense.

Small due diligence or not, it has to be encouraging for Bengals fans that the team sniffed around the idea at all, and a likely hint that the rumblings about serious aggression this offseason are pretty serious.

This article originally appeared on Bengals Wire: NFL rumors: Bengals were ‘latecomer’ to Maxx Crosby trade sweepstakes