2 weeks Ago By Mike Moraitis
The Cincinnati Bengals have revived their 2024 season after winning their last two games following a disastrous 1-4 start. As such, the Bengals could now be buyers at the NFL trade deadline, which is less than two weeks away. One area where Pro Football Focus' Bradley Locker thinks Cincinnati can improve at is safety, where he believes Vonn Bell and Geno Stone haven't been up to snuff this season.
Locker dreamed up a "fairty tale" trade scenario for the Bengals that has them bringing in Arizona Cardinals safety Budda Baker in a trade at the deadline. "The 28-year-old has established himself as one of the better safeties in the NFL," Locker wrote. "Over the last six years, Baker’s 0.
88 WAR ranks 17th. Coverage has never been a major strong suit, but Baker has repeatedly play well against the run, as evidenced by him notching a 74.9 run defense grade or better in five of his seven seasons.
"The Bengals are still clawing for their 2024 playoff lives, but the defense needs definite retooling. The major lacuna has been safety, where Cincinnati ranks 30th in team grade. Free agent addition Geno Stone has underperformed in a major way, while Vonn Bell hasn’t fared amazingly, either.
Neither has posted an overall grade above 61.3." While Baker has never been elite in coverage, he's more than serviceable in that area and would provide an upgrade for Cincinnati.
The six-time Pro Bowler really shines in the box against the run, which would be helpful for a Bengals defense that has struggled in that department this season. But it takes two to tango and the Cardinals would have to be willing to deal Baker. It stands to reason that's possible, considering Baker is on the final year of his deal, but the Cardinals are also still very much in the playoff hunt , sitting just one game in back of the NFC West-leading Seattle Seahawks .
If that continues, Arizona will likely want to keep one of its best defensive players to make a playoff push. To be honest, it would be surprising to see the Bengals make a move for a safety at the trade deadline. They aren't that bad off at the position that such a splash move is necessary, and this team can ill-afford to give up a mid-round pick for what is possibly a 10-game rental.
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