There weren’t many criticizing the Cincinnati Bengals for the Dexter Lawrence trade.
Losing the No. 10 pick in the draft for Lawrence hurt, no doubt. But most would look at the overall situation for the Bengals and Joe Burrow and come to the conclusion that it was a fair asking price.
Weighed in that analysis are the understandable risks with Lawrence in terms of age, financial cost and recent injuries.
Those are some considerations ESPN’s Bill Barnwell wrote about recently while tabbing the Lawrence trade as the Bengals’ worst offseason move.
“The Bengals didn’t have to do as much financially to appease Lawrence as I would have expected at the time of the deal, which helps,” Barnwell wrote. “And if they get the version of Lawrence they’re hoping for — an elite nose tackle who can control two gaps and get after the passer more than the vast majority of 0-technique linemen — they’ll be happy with the trade. But I’m nervous that Lawrence is coming off his worst season as a pro as part of a defense that was dismal against the run in New York. And though that can partially be chalked up to an elbow injury, Lawrence’s 2024 season was ended by that same elbow issue.”
In a funny twist, Bengals fans were thrilled to see the franchise finally stop overvaluing draft picks so much…before turning in some mediocre to downright terrible draft classes that put them in this hole to begin with.
Now that the Lawrene trade has happened, the negative counterpoints include the Bengals losing cheap team control of a rookie for four or five years while spending big on the offense.
The good news? Lawrence was a win-now move that sent a message and should free up prospects across the defense to develop properly on the fly. And if cap space is a concern, it shouldn’t be, as the league number keeps jumping each year and they have plenty of ways, like contract restructures, to create even more room.
This article originally appeared on Bengals Wire: Bengals get national warning Dexter Lawrence trade could backfire
Reporting by Chris Roling, Bengals Wire / Bengals Wire
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