The Bengals Need to Make One More Major Move This Offseason

Duke Tobin and the Cincinnati Bengals front office deserve significant credit for what they’ve assembled heading into 2026. Trading for Dexter Lawrence, signing Bryan Cook, Boye Mafe, Jonathan Allen, and Kyle Dugger, then drafting Cashius Howell and Tacario Davis, the defensive overhaul has been comprehensive and credible.

Cincinnati’s defensive line is now among the most imposing in the AFC. But there is a position group on this roster that none of those additions directly fix and it may be the one that undermines everything else.

The Bengals’ linebacker room produced arguably the worst collective performance of any position group in the NFL last season. Demetrius Knight Jr. earned a 40.2 PFF overall grade, Barrett Carter a 39.5, and veteran Oren Burks a 30.2. This trio ranked at the absolute bottom of the league at their position in PFF overall grade at 34.4.

The Bengals were reportedly in the running for top free-agent linebackers this offseason. But Devin Lloyd signed with the Carolina Panthers and Leo Chenal chose the Washington Commanders. As a result, the Bengals signed nobody of consequence at the position.

Cincinnati’s linebacker depth chart entering training camp reads: Barrett Carter and Demetrius Knight as starters, Oren Burks first off the bench, followed by Shaka Heyward, Joe Giles-Harris, and newly acquired Swayze Bozeman as depth.

That is not a linebacker room built to protect a championship-caliber defense. The front office is obviously hoping that second-year growth from two players who were historically bad as rookies arrives on schedule while they are surrounded by veterans who have produced almost nothing.

If the Bengals are betting on potential, there’s an argument to be made in their favor. Carter’s Clemson tape showed a player capable of developing into a quality three-down starter, while Knight has legitimate size and length at 6-foot-2 and 240 pounds, with smooth movement and zone coverage flashes that suggest a coverage baseline capable of developing further. Both players showed improvement in the second half of the 2025 season, which is perhaps the only reason the Bengals chose to run it back rather than invest premium resources.

The problem is that development projections don’t stop the likes of Lamar Jackson from exploiting the middle of the field when the Baltimore Ravens host the Bengals in October and visit them on New Year’s Eve. And they won’t prevent what many expect to be a fully-healthy Patrick Mahomes and reigning Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III from taking their turns through linebacker gaps on December 13.

At the moment, the linebacker market is pretty thin. But one veteran addition that could still make sense at this stage of the offseason is Washington’s Bobby Wagner. The 35-year- old posted a 90.3 PFF run-defense grade and a 92.4 pass-rush grade in 2025, the only linebacker in football to post 90-plus marks in both categories. His projected one-year, $8 million deal would represent modest cap usage for a player who could serve simultaneously as a run-stopper, a mentor for Knight and Carter, and an extension of Golden’s defensive communication system on the field. 

Shaq Thompson is another name that fits Cincinnati’s budget. The 32-year-old graded out at 65.2 or better on PFF last season with the Buffalo Bills and is projected to cost just $1.65 million. He isn’t a starter, but he raises the floor of the room in a way that Burks clearly cannot.

In truth, having Lawrence on the team reduces the linebacker’s exposure by commanding double teams and shortening the distances they need to cover. But a defense built to contend for a championship in a division that features Lamar Jackson and Aaron Rodgers cannot afford to carry its weakest unit into the season without at least one meaningful upgrade.