If Bengals do trades, it won't be blockbusters like Dexter Lawrence

Don’t look for the Cincinnati Bengals to be involved in the Dexter Lawrence trade sweepstakes.

The idea sounds fun, of course: Cincinnati needs help at all levels of the defense and it hasn’t gotten what it needs from someone like Kris Jenkins Jr., so Lawrence would be an obvious upgrade.

But the cost of getting a player with a $20 million cap charge in his prime before he wants a big extension is out of the range the Bengals want to occupy.

Even so, the perceived urgency around Joe Burrow still has the Bengals coming up as a top trade destination for Lawrence.

Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport listed stars who could be traded and made the connection:

“There's also the matter of Lawrence's value in a trade. The Giants are going to point to his nine sacks in 2024 and want a Round 1 pick. Trade partners are going to point to his down 2025 numbers and offer significantly less.”

And to the writeup’s credit, the Bengals are a “fit” in almost every sense that matters.

Except the cost.

The Bengals sit with the 10th overall pick and could add to the spot, where they’ve already signed Jonathan Allen. It might not be a perfect solution, but neither is giving up a huge draft asset for a guy who is already 28 years old and wants a market-resetting contract.

Trade ideas are fun, but the Bengals have historically excelled finding Reggie Nelson and BJ Hill-types, not doing the big blockbusters.

This article originally appeared on Bengals Wire: If Bengals do trades, it won't be blockbusters like Dexter Lawrence