Bengals Trade Pitch Aims to Sign Former All-Pro for $84 Million…
Head coach Zac Taylor, director of player personnel Duke Tobin, and president/acting general manager Mike Brown comprise the Cincinnati Bengals leadership council as they begin a crucial offseason for their team.
There will be approximately $60 million in salary space available this spring, according to Over the salary, but long-term choices on wide outs Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase will need to be made in 2024 and beyond. First and foremost, will the Bengals keep Higgins? And what will they do with the money instead if they decide to tag and trade the star wideout?
If Cincy prefers to bolster the defense, one “logical” trade option was suggested by Bleacher Report writer Alex Ballentine on January 29. The NFL analyst included a hypothetical trade proposal that could get the deal done, pitching:
The cap relief that Indianapolis would get in an effort to sign wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. to a long-term contract is not included in the trade above. Over the Cap estimates that in 2024, trading the $84 million contract would save up over $20 million.
The Colts may attempt to trade for the dependable veteran as long as they can, as Buckner is scheduled to become a free agent in the spring of 2025. Ballentine expressed his opinion that “trading for Buckner would give Cincinnati a legitimate star in the middle of the defence” regarding the Bengals.
The author concluded, “The Bengals really struggled to stop the run this season, and aside from the 4.5 sacks from B.J. Hill, they didn’t get much pass-rush support from their interior defenders.” “There aren’t many guarantees in [Buckner’s contract], so it would be easy to extend him in a way that works with their three-year salary cap.”
Buckner has been traded once before, from the San Francisco 49ers to the Colts. Following their 2019 Super Bowl defeat, the Niners realised they couldn’t afford to pay him, which resulted in a partial sell-off in 2020.
Although Buckner was selected to the second team All-Pro in 2019, he made the first team All-Pro in 2020, his first season with Indianapolis. The game-changer made two appearances in the Pro Bowl, ironically, in 2018 and 2021, but that only serves to highlight his consistency throughout the course of his career.
While Buckner won’t score 20 sacks in a single season, he did set a career high of 12.0 in 2018 and has ended every season with at least 7.0 sacks since his outstanding breakthrough year. In 2023, he recorded 8.0 sacks and 11 tackles for a loss.
Speaking of TFLs, since joining the league in 2016, the 6-foot-7 interior lineman has accumulated 80 tackles for a loss. In addition, there were two defensive scores, nine forced fumbles, ten fumble recoveries, 161 quarterback hits, and 27 pass defences.
Buckner is rated as a plus-disruptor by Pro Football Focus, having pressured the quarterback 50 times or more in most of his seasons. He is also a good run defender, with marks that have stayed around 70.0 for much of his career.
