The Cincinnati Bengals are in a win-now window, having QB Joe Burrow and needing to take advantage of his prime years. Nonetheless, the Bengals’ major concern is their defense, given that it cost them games last season.
Over the offseason, the Bengals have signed Boye Mafe, Jonathan Allen, and Bryan Cook to bolster the unit. However, could Cincinnati make a home run swing to improve the defensive line?
On April 6, ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter reported, citing sources, that New York Giants‘ Dexter Lawrence II requested a trade. Ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft on April 23, a move could happen if a team gives the Giants an offer they can’t refuse.
As a result, Kay Adams is urging the Bengals to be the team that makes that big trade splash for Lawrence.
“This Dexter Lawrence situation — nothing else has really happened, and it’s still somehow up in the air,” Adams said on the April 13 edition of “Up & Adams.” “So here’s what I understand: He demanded a trade last week. If the Giants are actually going to deal him, can we get Orlando Brown to play agent and make it happen? Because Bengals, this could be your chance to make a move.
“They still have $20 million in cap space this year. They’re Top 10 in projected cap space next year. Now is the time to use it, especially since you’ve got to think they can land [Lawrence] without giving up a first-round pick. There’s no better use for that cap space than on a guy who has consistently been one of the best — if not the best — interior defensive linemen in the league for the last five years.
Bengals Have Potential to Overhaul Their Defense
Moreover, Adams believes that trading for Lawrence, who will have a $20 million salary in 2026, per ESPN, will allow the Bengals to makeover their defense while also using the No. 10 pick to add another high-impact defensive player.
“[Bengals’ Director of Player Personnel] Duke Tobin, if it’s you on the other line, if you’re the one who actually makes these deals, I have to be convinced of that,“ Adams added. “I don’t know what they do out there in Cincinnati. That’s a nice little upgrade.
“Your defense needs help. It’s the only place you’re looking in the draft. If they add Dex, and if you draft a Caleb Downs or a Sonny Styles or maybe even a Rueben [Bain Jr.], we’re looking at this defense, I think, in a different light.”
Orlando Brown Jr. Gets Blunt About Dexter Lawrence II
Meanwhile, Orlando Brown Jr. was also asked about the Bengals potentially making a move for Lawrence during his April 13 appearance on “Up & Adams.”
“Dexter Lawrence is a baller,” Brown said. “He’d be even more of a baller in orange and black. I don’t know how that kind of stuff goes, necessarily. I don’t have all the answers; I think it’d be great. He definitely will make our football team better.
“And to be honest, it’s not a lot of teams he wouldn’t make better, man. He’s a special talent. You see him right here on some of these highlights. He’s a baller, man, and I’ve got a ton of respect for him and his game.”
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